


Mixed up

by Obisexual



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asexual Number Five | The Boy, F/F, Family, Five is just a little boy, Found Family, Gen, M/M, My canon my rules, Rated T for language, Trans Diego Hargreeves, Trans Vanya Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, it's not a plot point but i wanted it established that my diego is very trans, update tags as i continue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 42,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28930542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obisexual/pseuds/Obisexual
Summary: An anthology of one-shot chapters about what would have happened if the Hargreeves had swapped out years that they landed in
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Luther Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves/Lila Pitts, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Harlan Cooper & Number Five | The Boy, Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz, Sissy Cooper & Number Five | The Boy, The Hargreeves Family, diego hargreeves/raymond chestnut
Comments: 70
Kudos: 102





	1. 1960: Vanya

**Author's Note:**

> An idea I had for a while. I don't know if I plan on making this into a full AU or if I'll just do some one-shot chapters. I already know the order I'll go in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanya lands in 1960 with an unexpected hallucination

**1960: Vanya**

Vanya landed hard on the ground, groaning in pain. She squinted and shielded her eyes from the sun, lying on her back.

Where was she?

Where were the others?

What happened?

She looked around, trying to blink away her blurred vision.

“Vanya? Wake up! Vanya!”

Vanya groaned again, directing her attention to the source of the voice.

Her vision cleared up and she was finally able to see who was calling her.

“Leonard?”

She quickly sat up. 

“Leonard! You died!”

“Well yeah. I’m actually a safe manifestation of all the negative emotions you’ve been harboring for the last 30 years. I just appear as whoever your subconscious sees whenever you think certain thoughts.”

“What? Go away.”

“I can’t, Vanya. I’m your subconscious.”

She stood up and looked around at the alleyway. “What happened? Where is everyone?”

“Uh, well let’s backtrack. You killed Allison, killed Leonard, Luther trapped you in the basement, you killed Pogo, destroyed your home, the moon, and the world.”

Vanya was silent, remembering what had happened. “No...Luther said Allison was okay.”

“He said that to keep you from going off the rails. Which he failed to do.”

“Do you ever stop talking?”

“Hey, I’m only saying what you’re thinking.”

She rolled her eyes and started pacing. “Five must have jumped us all to a different time to save us all.”

“A wild conclusion to jump to.” 

“Look around, Leonard! The people around here don’t exactly look like they’re from 2019! So the others must be showing up any time soon. Right? So I should just stay here until one of them shows up.”

“Great idea.” The not-Leonard said sarcastically, now appearing as Five, smiling with a sarcastic grin. “I mean the last time Five time traveled, it ended so well, right? It was only, what, seventeen years? And that was with just him. With all six of you, that could only be about...100 years between all of you. You should get comfortable.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“I’m only saying _your_ thoughts!”

Vanya continued her pacing. 

“Okay, think...I’m in another time, I don’t know when or if my family will show up, I’m now alone in an alleyway with the world’s most annoying imaginary friend, Allison _isn’t_ dead because I remember seeing her at the concert, Pogo definitely _is_ dead…” Vanya took a breath, starting to hyperventilate. “Luther was right. I should have just stayed in the cell until I calmed down. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t gone crazy none of this would have happened. I’m never going to see them again. Unless they sent only me away to get rid of me. They wouldn’t do that, would they?”

Not-Luther glared down at her. “I don’t know, Vanya.”

She growled and stormed off. 

Not-Leonard appeared next to her as she passed a mailbox. “Where are you going?”

“To get some food. I’m hungry and I need to think.”

\------

Vanya sat in a diner, staring at a cold plate of food. She had only started to process the amount of trauma she’d gone through in less than a day.

Not-Leonard stared back at her, waiting for her to say something, but she said nothing.

She blinked slowly and tried to hold back tears.

The last thing she needed was to cry in the middle of a 1960’s diner with everyone watching her. 

She took a shaky breath and looked up at the not-Leonard. “I’m never going to see them again, am I?”

He shook his head quietly. “No. Never. You’re going to die here. Alone. With no one but yourself. They’re not even going to bother looking for you. They dumped you here and you know it. They hate you. They never loved you. And you made it worse when you wrote that book. You told everyone their secrets, you insulted them, you were careless and didn’t even consider how they’d feel. All because you were mad at them. You were jealous and angry. And even if you _did_ have one of them with you, they wouldn’t want to help you. You’re just like you always were. Alone and hated.”

Vanya choked back a sob and her cup exploded. 

She yelped and looked at the shattered glass. 

The other patrons looked over at her and she tried to avoid eye contact as the waitress came over.

“Are you okay, dear?” 

“Yeah...I’m fine.”

“That’s so weird. Here, I’ll get that cleaned up for you.” She swiped all of the broken glass into a garbage can with a rag and gently wiped off Vanya’s pants.

Vanya’s heart skipped a beat, her breath catching in her throat. She cleared her throat as the waitress smiled at her, putting another cup on her table and walked away. 

Not-Vanya stared at Vanya. “You are so easy to fall in love.”

“I’m not in love, moron.”

“Maybe she likes you, too.”

“I doubt that.”

“I don’t know, she looked at you like she thought you were cute. Maybe you can convince her to pay for your food since you don’t have your wallet with you.”

Vanya froze, coming to that realization.

Shit.

She looked at the food on the table and bit the inside of her lip, trying to think of what to do.

What would Klaus do?

“I don’t know what Klaus would do.” Not-Klaus said. “Probably run away like he does with everything else.”

She slowly stood up and went to the bathroom.

This was a bad idea.

She found a window and her eyes lit up, shattering the glass.

This was a very bad idea.

Not-Klaus crossed his arms, watching her try to climb up, but failing to reach the windowsill.

Vanya took a breath and started floating up.

Once high enough, she grabbed on and started climbing through the window.

She got all the way through and fell to the ground.

“Ow…” She groaned, wincing in pain. 

“Are you dead?”

“I wish I was.”

“I do, too. I feel the pain you feel. You have glass in your back.”

“I know that!”

This was a very, very bad idea.

Vanya stood up and held her back, feeling the blood leaking through her shirt and coat. 

“Fuck…”

“Well now what?”

“I don’t know, okay!? I don’t even know where I am!”

She held her head, groaning. 

So many negative thoughts were swarming in her head. She didn’t have the luxury of having her siblings to protect her anymore. Not that they would want to. Not after everything she did. They all hated her. She deserved to be hated. Maybe they did leave her here alone. Why else would none of them be here? Why would they even forgive her? Why did it have to be her? Why only her? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

“Vanya!” 

She gasped, coming back to reality as debris, cars, and a dumpster dropped out of the air, crashing to the ground. 

The car alarms went off and people gasped and crowds gathered around, trying to figure out what happened.

“No one saw me do that, right?”

“Well no one except her.”

An elderly woman adorned in pearls and jewels stood, aghast at the sight before her.

“Shit.”

\------

Before Vanya knew what had happened, the old lady, who she found out was named Esther Holloway, had taken her to different events, showing off her amazing ability to crowds of dozens of rich folks. 

They applauded her as she turned music into something physical.

They shouted with joy as she floated in the air, even allowing some others to float with her.

It felt nice to be appreciated.

Soon, the get-togethers of 100 turned into crowds of 500 and then thousands.

The positive reinforcement slowly spread into worship and blind praise.

People came from across the globe just to see her work.

The crowds evolved from rich snobs seeking to be entertained to people of all ages and backgrounds who sought to bow at her feet. They adorned themselves in white suits, appearing more like a bunch of Michael Jackson cosplayers than worshippers.

The Rain, they called themselves.

Much like her family, Vanya’s followers ended up with matching tattoos on their wrists. Umbrellas, just like her family. But these umbrellas had raindrops dripping from them. She didn’t think it was very original, but they all seemed to think it was a brilliant idea. And that made her feel nice.

“You deserve this, Vanya. You didn’t get any love in 2019, not even from your own family. Now you have thousands of people who love you. Unconditionally. They’ll do anything for you. Isn’t this nice?”

It wasn’t until Vanya looked over at the not-Allison staring back at her with a smile on her face that she realized that this was, in fact, very very bad. 


	2. 1961: Diego

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego lands in 1961, struggling to adjust to a new routine and genuinely good people.

**1961: Diego**

Diego fell out of the portal and landed in an alleyway, crouching on one knee, in a classic superhero pose.

He was sure he looked bad-ass.

He stood up and looked behind him where the portal was, expecting to see the others coming out at any moment.

They didn’t.

Shit.

“Five? Luther?”

He backed up and started to walk down the sidewalk, hoping to find any of his siblings wandering around and looking for him. 

Diego started noticing the people standing in the street, giving him odd looks as he passed them by. 

He was definitely not in 2019 anymore. 

He walked up to a couple. “Hey have you seen anyone strange walking by? Maybe a 13-year-old? Looks kind of like a less-stable Norman Bates? A big guy in a turtleneck? Head’s way too big for his body? No?”

They scoffed at him and walked away.

“Assholes.”

He ran inside a diner. “Vanya!”

The chatter died down and they all stared at him, glowering as if he’d just insulted their grandmother. He stood there, unsure of what to say. 

The man at the counter angrily pointed at a sign that read ‘WHITES ONLY’.

“I’m looking for my family-” He tried to explain, but was cut off.

“You’re looking in the wrong neighborhood, boy. Get.”

He stuttered over his words, trying to speak, but couldn’t find the words in his mind.

Now the patrons started getting violent.

One stood up and pushed him, making him stumble backwards. 

“Can’t you read, boy? No hablo ingles?”

“Your Spanish is terrible.”

Diego was shoved again, but this time he punched back.

That was a very bad move.

He yelled in pain as someone threw a cup of coffee at him, shattering the cup against his head and splashing the scalding coffee on his face. He held his face and stumbled backwards out of the diner, bumping into a group of men.

“You’re in the wrong neighborhood, amigo.”

Panicking, Diego did the only thing he knew to do in stressful situations.

He punched wildly, despite half his vision being impaired.

He missed because half his vision was impaired.

The taller of the bunch punched Diego square in the jaw, knocking him on his back. 

One of them may have kicked him in the side, but with the rest of the pain he was feeling, he couldn’t be sure.

He stood up and started running off, being chased with the men yelling at him.

Diego stumbled into a hair salon, falling into a chair and catching his breath.

The woman quickly helped him sit up straight, talking all at once.

They grabbed their scissors as the men ran inside the salon.

“You all’d best leave.”

The men stumbled over their words and walked out and the women shut the door and locked it quickly.

Diego panted, his lip quivering, trying not to cry. He held his still-burning face and looked at the women around him.

“Let me see your face, dear.” She carefully moved his hands and turned to the others. “He’s got some cuts and burns on his face. Get me the first aid kid and a damp towel.” 

They rushed to get cups of the needed supplies and the woman turned back to Diego. “Are you okay? Let me look at your eyes. Do you know what year it is?”

Diego let out a pathetic laugh and shook his head. “No.”

“It’s 1961. Can you tell me your name?”

“Diego...Diego Hargreeves. My family…I need to find them.”

She gently stroked his hair as she was handed a damp towel and a cup of water. “This’ll sting a little.” Diego nodded quietly, catching his breath.

She carefully poured the cool water on his face and dabbed at his face with the towel.

“1961...This is the worst year to be stuck in. Allison’s black, Klaus is gay, I’m Mexican, we’re all fucked. Except Luther. He’s too white for his own good. Wait, he’s trans. Shit, I’m trans. No one in this family’s safe.” Diego laughed again, but winced in pain.

This was an extreme pain.

Once they had bandaged up his face, and he had calmed down, Diego took a moment to look at the women surrounding him. They looked so concerned about this strange man that just barged into their business, dressed like a grade-A weirdo, who was crying about his family. They were concerned about _him_ . They didn’t even _know_ him. They just cared for him because they were good people. 

\------

After a few weeks, the burns on his face faded into scars. His right eye, unfortunately, had been blinded and he struggled to adapt to the lack of depth perception. But he liked how bad-ass he looked with an eyepatch and scars on his face. Like the Phantom of the Opera.

Odessa, as Diego learned her name was, and her friends welcomed him into their salon with open arms. He worked there, sweeping up the floor and sorting out their paperwork. Anything to help the people who welcomed him into their lives with no questions. 

It felt nice being wanted and cared for. Not because they were programmed to, but because they wanted to. They were just women who knew how bad the world was and wanted to make sure no one faced that world alone.

As he got comfortable around these women, he built himself a routine.

In the morning, he would help them open the salon up, carrying stuff that might be too heavy, doing things they needed help with.

“Diego would you help me fix this chair? It’s got a tear in it.”

Throughout the day, he would sweep up, keep track of the tips, kill any spiders that were bothering them, and scare off any people who would try to give them trouble.

“Don’t kill the spider, it didn’t do anything! Just toss it out the window!”

He’d go get lunch and bring back everyone’s food (minus a few fries from each of the bags).

At first, he would sit at the back table and eat quietly while they talked amongst themselves.

Then after a few days, Odessa invited him into a conversation they were having about movies.

“We want to plan a movie night for everyone here. Do you have any favorites?”

Diego paused a moment. No one ever asked him his opinion. Let alone whether or not he liked anything. 

“I...like Wizard of Oz. With the...flying monkeys and the lady in the bubble.”

It was one of his favorite movies. 

After that, he talked with them during lunch more and more. It was odd, talking during a meal. He’d spent years not being able to talk with a meal. It felt like a family. 

After the day ended, he would help close up the salon. Everyone would say their goodbyes and he would always run to the same alleyway and wait for hours, hoping to see if any of his siblings would appear. They never did.

When two hours had passed, he would sneak back into the salon, use the store shampoo to wash his hair in the sink, and sleep in the bathroom until morning came. 

This was his life.

Until.

\------

Diego smiled to himself, watching the women talk amongst each other after the salon closed for the day as he quietly forged himself a birth certificate. 

He stared at the finished product proudly. It could have fooled even the FBI. He paused and considered the possibility that if he was stuck here for the rest of his life, he’d probably want to end up marrying a man as well. 

He pulled out another piece of paper and started working on another forgery when the door opened. 

A man walked in, setting a hat on a hat rack. 

Ray, they called him. 

He was handsome, well-dressed, charismatic, confident, a kind face. Everything you’d look for in a perfect person.

He smiled at the women, greeting them. Miles was also with him.

Diego listened, pretending not to, as they talked about social issues and peaceful protests. He had many opinions on the conversations, but chose to stay silent. The last thing they needed was a hot-head like him getting involved. So he decided to keep to himself, continuing his federal crime. Although, he did mentally keep notes on what was being said. 

They talked politics and social activism well past closing time. 

The clock read 9:17 pm and Diego made his way towards the door, quietly waving goodbye to them, accidentally bumping into Ray.

“Going home, Diego?” Odessa asked.

No.

“Yeah. Long day. You all have a nice night.”

He walked out, looking at the ground.

Once again, he started waiting in the alley. 

So far, his efforts had been fruitless, but maybe this would be the night. 

He started pacing slowly. They had to show up eventually. Right?

Diego took a deep breath and calmed himself. 

A glare on top of a building caught his eye. He looked up, squinting. The street lights were shining off of something on top of the roof, but he couldn’t quite make it out. 

Just as he was starting to step closer to get a better look, he pulled out a knife, hearing someone approaching from behind him.

“What are you doing?”

He quickly put the knife away, seeing only Ray.

“Hi.” Diego mumbled. 

“Why are you in this neighborhood?”

“I uh...got lost on my way home.”

“Lost, huh? Where do you live?”

Shit.

“I don’t.”

“You don’t?”

“I don’t...live?”

If there’s one thing Reginald taught them, it _wasn’t_ how to lie.

Ray raised an eyebrow. “You don’t live? Are you a ghost now?” He asked with a small laugh. Diego awkwardly laughed back. 

He cleared his throat, putting his hands in his pockets. “I don’t...I don’t have a home. I’ve been..living in the bathroom.”

“It’s Diego, right?”

Diego nodded, instinctively fixing his hair.

“I’m Ray.” He shook Diego’s hand. “I’m sure you saw me talking at the salon with the others.”

“Yeah. You seem nice.”

“Well, Diego. If it’s not too much of an embarrassing thing to offer, I have an extra room in my house. So you don’t have to be sleeping on a toilet.”

“It’s not that bad. The water tank makes a nice headrest.”

Ray laughed again. “Well, it wouldn’t sit right with me if I just let you go somewhere without a roof over your head. I have some leftover meatloaf in the fridge. You can tell me all about it over dinner. Sound good to you?”

It had been weeks and no one bothered to show up. Maybe he was stuck here by himself. The least he could do was make the best out of it. For all he knew, it would take Five another 45 years before he found him again. 

Diego took one last look at the alley and followed after Ray. Whatever he saw on the top of the roof had been completely forgotten about.

Maybe this was going to be the start of something good.


	3. 1962: Klaus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus and Ben land in 1962. Klaus is forced to go to someone he doesn’t want to for help.

**1962: Klaus**

Klaus yelled, landing on a dumpster and bouncing off of it onto the ground, face-first.

He laid there, groaning as the rain fell from the sky, drenching him in seconds. He rolled over on his back, instantly getting water in every orifice that he should not have water in.

He sat up, coughing and spitting the water out.

Ben stared down at him, crossing his arms. “Are you done?”

“Oh hey. I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” Klaus snapped as he stood up. “What the hell happened?”

“Well it  _ looks  _ like Five saved us, but now we’re not with anyone else. So that’s great.”

“Super.” Klaus stood up. “Well what now?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because I’m cold and wet and miserable and going through withdrawals!”

Ben rolled his eyes. It  _ was  _ true. Klaus looked very miserable. Kind of like a wet cat that someone tossed in a gutter. And since Ben was dead, the rain didn’t really have any effect on him. He sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. 

“Okay, so what would we normally do in a situation like this?”

“Wait for Luther to make a bad decision and do it because he cries when we don’t like his ideas?”

“Well we can’t just wait for Five or someone else to show up.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not going to be living in an alley with you for 16 years again.”

“So what do we do then, Casper?”

“First we find out what year it is.”

“Sure. That’ll help.” Klaus said, throwing his arms up dramatically. He walked out of the alley. 

It was very cold. He felt pneumonia coming on. Just what he needed. He stopped at a store, looking at the advertisements on the window. 

_ SALE EXPIRES 07/12/1962 _

Shit.

He and Ben looked at each other. “Well at least there’s no apocalypse…”

“We need to get help.” Klaus sighed, defeated.

“Who could possibly help us? We don’t know anyone here!” Ben paused and turned to Klaus. “We know one person…”

“What? Who do we…” Klaus froze and his eyes widened. “No. No. Absolutely not!”

“Klaus!”

“No! I’m putting my foot down! I always listen to you. Well not anymore!”

Klaus crossed his arms, pouting as he looked out a bus window. Ben sat across the aisle from him.

This was entirely unfair. 

Being forced to sit on a 20 hour bus drive to Indianapolis, surrounded by sweaty old people, some of them even heterosexual. He curled up so his entire body fit on the seat and deliberately looked anywhere but at Ben.

“I spy something yellow.”

“I’m not playing.”

Ben stared at him silently, unblinking.

“Is it that woman’s purse?”

“No.”

“The words on that poster?”

“No.”

“I give up.”

“The mustard you sat in when you got on the bus.”

“What!? Why didn’t you say anything!?”

“Because it was funny.”

“You’re an ass.”

Klaus tried to wipe his pants off, but only ended up smearing it worse.

This day was already getting off to a bad start. And he knew it was going to get worse when the bus stopped in front of the familiar house he had spent most of his life in. He took a breath and looked at the large building. Ben patted his back assuringly. 

“You’re a brave guy for doing this, Klaus. Coming back to the one place that gives you more nightmares than the mausoleum, talking to the one man who terrified you so much that growing up, you would have preferred to be raised by the tentacles in my stomach. Asking him for help...it’s not an easy choice, but it’s a brave one.”

“Huh. Thanks. Ben. That helped me feel a little better.” Klaus laughed. “What am I worried about? He doesn’t know me. He can’t judge me. It’s just gonna be him in his big empty house by himself.”

The house was not empty and he was far from alone.

Klaus and Ben stared in disbelief, looking at the large party of people. They were all laughing and talking amongst each other. Women dressed in the finest jewels and dresses, men in mediocre suits.

“Is this the right house?” Klaus asked.

“It’s like looking into the Twilight Zone.” Ben said. 

“Look!” Klaus pointed over to a circle of people crowding around someone. 

The once-looming figure that Klaus had burned into his nightmares now stood, laughing and talking amongst strangers. The man that never even so much as even cracked a smile was  _ joking _ and being  _ sociable _ . Both Klaus and Ben stood speechless, watching in disbelief. It was unheard of and yet, here he was.

Reginald Hargreeves.

Klaus looked at Ben, unsure of how to approach this situation.

“What do I do?”

“Go talk to him.”

“How? He terrifies me even more than usual now!”

Ben pushed him towards Reginald as he started off toward the bar to get another glass of champagne.

Klaus stumbled and stopped in front of him. “Hey, Dad.”

Reginald stared at him and walked around him. 

“Hey! Look, I need your help. You’re my dad.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yes I am. I’m from the future. You bought me and six others from our mothers because we have powers! You sent Luther to the moon, you told us Vanya didn’t have powers, then you killed yourself so we could stop the apocalypse! And now I’m stuck here and I need your help.”

“That didn’t happen.”

“Yes it did! I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true! You have to believe me! You know time travel exists, how is it so hard to believe it happens!?”

“The time travel isn’t the part that’s unbelievable. The fact of the matter is I have a deep,  _ deep _ dislike for children. Now I don’t know what gutter you crawled out of, but I would recommend you take your sweaty, stained, odious body and get out of my house.” Reginald took a sip of his drink and started back towards the party.

“Why is it every time I try to come to you for help, you  _ always _ make me hate you even more than I did before? Fine! Be that way! I’ll see you in 60 years when you’re dead and all your children are literally dancing on your grave!” Klaus grabbed a bottle of alcohol and stormed out.

He sat on the front steps, drinking quietly. Ben sat beside him. “Well that didn’t go well. But you told him off. That must have felt good.”

Klaus smiled a little. “Yeah. It did.” He went back to frowning, starting to sob. “What do we do now? I don’t want to be stuck here. I miss wifi.”

“Well until Five shows up we’re stuck here…”

“Fine. But if I’m gonna be stranded in the 60’s again, I’m gonna do it  _ my  _ way.”

“What is  _ your  _ way?”

\------

Klaus sat at a bar in Dallas, drinking multiple shots of various alcohol. 

Ben watched in silent judgment. 

“Bartender, I need more alcohol! Does Coke still have coke in it or did that time already pass? Because if it does I would like seven Cokes.” Klaus said, leaning on the bar, slurring his words. 

He let out a whoop and grabbed a bottle, leaving the bar to walk around the club. “This club is nice. I mean, it needs more male strippers, but not a bad establishment for the 60’s.”

He sat on a couch, leaning against someone. “This place is the best.”

“Uh, Klaus…” Ben said cautiously. “Klaus, that’s Jack Ruby.”

“The baseball guy?”

“No, you idiot. The guy who killed Lee Harvey Oswald.”

“Babe Ruth killed Steve Harvey?”

Klaus paused and laughed at his own question. “I’m so drunk.”

“Okay, someone get this asshole out of my club.” Ruby said, shoving Klaus off of him.

The bouncers grabbed Klaus, but Klaus, with a surprising amount of strength, cracked one of them in the jaw with the bottle he was holding and elbowed the other one in the stomach. They both fell to the ground and Klaus stared at his hands in disbelief.

“Holy shit, I just remembered I know how to fight.”

“You just remembered that?” Ben asked.

Ruby watched as Klaus avoided being punched in the face by ducking and punching the bouncer in his trachea. The bouncer immediately fell to the ground and Klaus punched another in the ear, watching with drunken apathy as the beaten men lay on the ground. 

Ben held his face in his hands, groaning. 

Ruby stood, walking up to Klaus. “What’s your name?”

“Klaus. Hargreeves. Don’t kill me.”

“Come by tonight. I have a proposition for you. You work for me, you win fights, you be my bodyman, you get free rooming, you get paid. Got it?”

“How much?”

“Doesn’t matter. You work for me, no one can tell you no.”

“No one can tell me no?”

\------

Klaus fell back, getting punched in the face. He wiped the blood off his face, catching his breath. This wasn’t exactly how he imagined his weekend going. To be fair, he  _ did  _ imagine getting his ass pounded by a 7-foot behemoth of a man on a Saturday, but not in this context. He looked over at Ben, who was being more concerned than he wanted to be. “Come on, Klaus! You can take this guy! You dealt with Luther being a sore loser over Jenga, you can deal with him!” 

Klaus nodded and got his footing. He cracked his neck and blocked an oncoming punch. He jerked the arm down, using his free hand to elbow the man in the jaw. He kicked him in the shin and headbutted him in the temple. Ben pumped his fists excitedly. Klaus knocked the man on his back, still holding onto his fist and flipped him, pinning his foot against his throat.

He looked over at Ruby, who nodded approvingly. 

Klaus smiled. He walked over to him, wiping sweat off his face. “So?”

“Good. As long as you keep doing that, you’ll go far. Might want to bulk up some. You’re looking a bit scrawny.” Ruby patted his shoulder and handed him some money before walking off.

Klaus looked at the stack of money and kissed it.

He walked into the room selected for him and jumped on the bed, lying face-down. “Oh this is so nice. Ben, feel how nice this bed is.”

“I can see it.” Ben said. 

“I can get used to this.” Klaus sat up. “Okay...so I need to bulk up. Sounds easy enough.”

“Klaus can you even do a push-up?’

Klaus scoffed sarcastically. “Of course I can.”

Ben crossed his arms and motioned to the floor. “Go on then. Do one.”

“I will!” Klaus got on the floor and tried doing a push-up, but flopped to the ground. “Ugh, this is so painful. How was Luther able to do this?”

“Klaus-”

“Yeah, I know. I realize what I said.” He sat up and took a breath. “Okay. Let’s start with sit-ups.”

Klaus quickly rose into the reputation of Jack Ruby’s top fighter. He adopted the moniker Sucker Punch. It wasn’t a tough name, but Klaus really loved the movie. And no one really bothered to make fun of the guy who could drop you in 5 seconds. 

After a few months, the novelty of being an underground fighting ring champion wore off as Klaus realized day after day that his family still hadn’t shown up. The joy of making money and earning fame turned into a cycle of depression once he realized that he had just become a glorified version of what his father had turned his family into. Some days Ben was nowhere to be seen. Whether it was because of the amount of drinking or because he didn’t want to see Klaus ruining his life again was up to debate. 

All that Klaus knew was that this new job was no longer just a temporary thing and was, in fact, a new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you for all the support for this fic! I didn’t expect so many people to like it. The next chapter might be delayed a bit because I’m dealing with personal stuff. But good news is I’ll most likely be expanding the fic past the time jumps. It’ll be scenes that would change the plot of the season so it won’t be “five meeting Elliott” or the consulate but other scenes like Harlan running away and obviously the fbi building. Be safe and wear your masks!


	4. 1963 (September): Allison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison lands in 1963 and is immediately realizing how deep of shit she actually is in.

**1963 (September): Allison**

Allison fell out of the portal, landing painfully on her knee. She winced in pain and stood, limping slightly. She was barely able to process what had happened or where she was before a woman’s scream caught her attention.

She ran over, seeing a man running off with a woman’s purse. Allison chased after him, tackling him to the ground. She punched him in the face and took the purse back, handing it to the lady. Without so much as a thank you, she took her purse and ran off. 

Allison looked over at the window of a television store. JFK was on the TV, making his inauguration speech. She started to shake. Both in fear and in anger. 

Five had overshot it and now she was all alone in the 60s. She stepped back and struggled to think. 

She ran off and found her way to a police station. She walked up to the desk and opened her mouth to speak.

_Don’t talk. You’ll only make it worse._

She closed her mouth, Luther’s words etched into her brain.

Don’t speak. 

She took a pen and paper off the desk and started writing. She slapped the paper down and looked at the officer at the desk. 

He rolled his eyes and looked at the paper.

_I need to find my family. Hispanic man, scar on his face, short brown hair, always wearing black. Or a 13-year-old? Blue school uniform._

He looked at her. “Don’t write on my stuff.”

She scowled and slammed her hands against the desk. He reached for a weapon and she quickly backed up, putting her hands up. Her lip quivered as she wiped back some tears.

She put her hands together, asking “please”, and pointing back to the paper.

“Where are you from?”

Allison shook her head, unable to answer. Truthfully, at least. She backed up and leaned against the wall, unable to hold back tears anymore. She slid down and pulled her knees close.

Trapped in the 60’s. By herself. With no idea where her family was or even if they were alive.

She sat there, staring at the wall until two men in white pulled her to her feet and started leading her away by her arms. She tried to pull herself free, but the more she struggled, the tighter their grip became. 

She started kicking and yanked her arms free, starting to make a run for it. The taller one ran after her and grabbed her. He held her in a tight hold and stuck a needle in her neck, sedating her.

———

Allison woke in a blindingly white room, lying on a cot. 

“Miss, can you hear me?”

She blinked to clear her vision and looked over at a man in a lab coat. 

“Can you hear me?” He repeated.

She nodded, rubbing her neck.

“You’ve been admitted to the Holbrook Sanitarium.”

She jerked her head, her eyes widening. The confused look on her face was enough to permit the doctor to continue speaking.

“You were admitted because you were sitting in a police station, crying in a corner. Do you know where you are?”

She shook her head. 

“You’re in Dallas. Do you know how you got here?”

Allison remembered the moon falling out of the sky and Five attempting a jump. Clearly something went wrong.

Again, she shook her head.

“So you don’t know where you are or how you got here. Do you remember your name? Or where you’re from?”

“Allison Hargreeves” is what she wanted to say, but she couldn’t form the words in her mouth. All that came out was a raspy squeak. 

The doctor looked at the bandage on her throat. “Did someone hurt you?”

She put her hand on the bandage, remembering Vanya and how mad she was. She deserved to be pissed. It wasn’t her fault.

Allison started moving her hands, signing slowly. 

_My name is Allison. I need to go home._

He nodded, seeming to understand. “And where is your home?”

She started signing again, but stopped. 

Her home didn’t exist yet. Where would she go?

She took a breath.

_I don’t have a home._

“Mm-hmm.” He continued writing. “So you have no home, no idea where you are or how you got here, and, according to the police, you are looking for your brothers.”

_I’m never getting out of here._

\------

Allison sat at a table, mindlessly making a bracelet. She put the beads in no particular order, making sure to add lots of purple because Claire loved purple. She added some tiny flowers and held the finished product in her hands tightly. 

“You just come in?”

She looked next to her, seeing an Indian woman with choppy bangs looking her over. She smiled and held her hand out to her. “I’m Lila.”

Allison shook her hand. 

“Cat got your tongue?”

She motioned to the scar on her neck

 _Had an accident._ She signed.

Lila nodded, understanding.

“So is it that you _can’t_ speak, or you _can_ but you’re too scared?”

Allison ignored her and pulled a cigarette out of her bra that she had hidden away and put it in her mouth. 

Lila flicked open a lighter, offering it to her. Allison nodded and lit the cigarette, taking a prolonged puff. She offered it to Lila, who happily took it. Lila held it in her mouth, glancing down at where it was previously hidden. 

She pulled out a cigarette of her own and lit it with the one in her mouth, handing it to Allison.

Allison took it with an exhausted sigh.

_I don’t belong here. I need to get out._

“Why? You got somewhere important to be?”

She scowled slightly, but realized she was right. There was nowhere for her to go. Her family was nowhere to be seen, there was no telling how long she would be in the past. Or if Five would ever show up again. As far as she knew, this was her life now.

No.

She wasn’t going to wait forever like last time.

Lila watched with interest as Allison stood and jumped over the table, running through the window. She stood, carefully dusting the glass shards off of her and started to run off, limping slightly. The men chased after her down the sidewalk. She rolled over the hood of a car and ran into an alley. 

Shit.

One of the men grabbed her from behind, struggling to put her in a hold. She quickly turned, smacking his nose with the bottom of her palm.

He fell back, holding his nose. While she smiled victoriously, the other man grabbed her, sticking a needle in her neck. 

Her vision blurred and she fell unconscious.

\------

She woke in a small white room, wrapped in a straight jacket. 

Wonderful. 

The door opened and the doctor walked in. “Hello, Miss Hargreeves. Are you feeling in a better mood now?”

She stared, tilting her head down. How did he expect her to respond with her hands bound?

“If you can promise to behave, you’ll be able to go back to your own cell and be able to do whatever you want during the day and participate in group therapy. Is that something you could do?”

She nodded slowly. He looked at the other orderlies with him and nodded, allowing them to take the jacket off. She stretched her arms, rubbing her shoulder. He helped her up and she was led to a room where other patients were sitting in a circle. Lila, who was lying across two of them, sat up and freed up the chair beside her.

Allison sat down, keeping her hands on her lap.

Lila leaned over, smirking. “Nice job breaking that guy’s nose. It was hilarious. He cried.”

Allison laughed a little.

“So, welcome to group therapy. As you might know, we have a new patient today. Allison, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

She looked around at the other patients and slowly signed.

_I came here out of nowhere. I don’t know how to get home._

The doctor nodded, writing. 

“While you’re here, are there any issues about yourself that you’d like to address?”

Allison stopped, taking a moment to actually think about it. 

_I have a lot of issues. It’s my fault I’m here. I hurt my sister and now I’m trapped here. So there’s not much there that can be helped. She did this to me, but I made her do it._ Allison motioned to the scar on her neck. _I don’t know where the rest of my family is, but I will do what it takes to get out of here and be with them again._

Lila sarcastically applauded. “Quite the chatty one, isn’t she?” She laughed. 

There was some scattered applause among the group.

Allison rolled her eyes, trying not to smile at Lila, who winked at her. 

She stared at the wall as the others continued to talk. 

Locked up in a nuthouse in _Dallas_ of all places. Maybe she deserved this.

No. 

She wasn’t going to be a damsel in distress. Her father raised her to be a fighter until her last breath, right? So that’s what she was going to do. She meant what she said.

She would do what it took to be with her family again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit difficult to write it's one of the shorter chapters (Klaus and Diego getting just under 2,000 words and this one and Vanya's being a bit over 1500) and I think it's a bit slower than the other chapters, but I like how it turned out I hope you do too!


	5. 1963 (October): Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five ends up in October, 1963 and comes across Sissy and her son

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many references to season 1 can I fit into one chapter? You'll find out.

**1963 (October): Five**

The portal opened, spitting out Five. He landed on his ankle and winced in pain.

That hurt.

He stood, looking up at the portal, hoping to see the others, but they didn’t show up and the portal closed.

“Vanya? Luther? Diego?”

No response.

He limped, running out of the alleyway, only to get hit by a car.

He collapsed to the ground, his head bouncing off the hood of the car on his way down.

The woman driving got out and looked down at him. “Son of a biscuit…” She looked over at her son. “Your dad’s gonna kill me.”

Five sat up and looked at her, shielding his face from the sun with his hand. She helped him to his feet. “Are you hurt?”

“I think I’m fine. My ankle hurts.”

“Shoot, did I run over your leg? Let’s get you to the doctor.”

Five got in the car, sitting in the backseat.

“What in the Lord’s name were you doing running into the street?” She asked, both angry and concerned.

“I...I don’t know. I can’t remember anything really. I think I hit my head.”

“Wonderful. Can you remember anything? Like your name? Or your family?”

“...Five. Five Hargreeves.”

“Five what?”

“Hargreeves. That’s my name.”

“Who names their kid that? Are you sure that’s your name?”

Five nodded. “I’m sure.”

“Well...Five. I’m Sissy and that’s my son, Harlan. We’re gonna take you to the doctor and see what happens from there. I’ll have to call my husband Carl when we get there…” 

Five looked over at Harlan, who quietly played with a wooden duck as Sissy muttered under her breath about strange children running into the street.

\------

The doctor looked at Five’s X-Rays. “Well, you don’t seem to have any injuries that need surgery, but there is a scar on your right arm and what looks like a shrapnel wound on your stomach. It looks like they’re healing fine. I’d recommend keeping an eye on your arm, though. It might have been self-inflicted and more could show up. You do have a sprained ankle, but other than that it looks like you’ll be fine in the long run.”

Five nodded, holding his head. “What about my memory?”

“Hm, well it will probably take some time for it to come back. You don’t have a concussion, luckily. Get some rest and take some pain medication. Keep your foot elevated and if you have to walk, use some support because putting all your pressure on it will make it hurt more.”

Sissy stood outside on the payphone, holding Harlan’s hand. 

“Well I didn’t  _ mean _ to hit him with the car, Carl. He ran out into the street like a lunatic. Yes, Harlan’s fine. The car’s fine, too Carl. I don’t know, he seems fine.” She sighed. “We’re at the hospital. He’s got some weird tattoo on his wrist. He’s just a boy. Who lets their son get a tattoo like that at such a young age? No, he doesn’t remember who his family is. I guess he’ll have to stay with us. Okay...We’ll be back soon. I love you, too…” She hung up and ran her hands through her hair. She looked at Harlan and forced a smile. “I guess you get a new brother.”

She walked back into the room and sat Harlan on a chair. “Well?”

“He’s fine to go. As I was telling him, keep an eye on him, but everything else is good. If it seems like he’s feeling worse, bring him back. He’ll probably have some headaches but that’s just the memories trying to come back.”

“Thanks. Come on, Five.”

He walked with her out of the office. 

“I guess you’ll be staying with us for the time being until someone comes looking for you. That sound ok? I promise I won’t run you over again.”

He laughed a little. “Ok.”

“Let’s get you some new clothes. You’re too tall to fit any of Harlan’s.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Well I gotta get Harlan some new shoes anyway. Might as well get you something that doesn’t make you look like a Catholic school student.”

They got to a department store and Sissy looked around. “Alright. We’ll get you a few shirts and pants, some unmentionables, and maybe a pair of shoes that don’t look like bowling shoes. Go on and pick out some stuff you like. I’ll be over in the shoes.” She held Harlan’s hand and walked off. 

Sissy held up some shoes to Harlan. “Harlan sweetie, they don’t have your old ones in your new size, you’ll have to get a different pair. What about these?”

He started fussing, but Sissy gently grabbed his hands, shaking her head. “I know I know. But feel the ones I picked out. They feel just like your old ones, see?” She put one of his hands on a shoe. “See? Just like your old ones.”

He calmed down, feeling the shoes. 

“Do you want to try them on and see how they feel?”

He didn’t nod, but he didn’t shake his head no, so Sissy took that as a yes and sat him down.

Five came up quietly, looking at Sissy.

“You find something already?”

She looked at the stuffed gorilla being held tightly in his arms. She looked back at Five, smiling sweetly. “I meant to find clothes that you like.”

“Can I get it? Please?”

“...alright, but only that one. Go get some clothes now. Here, give me your coat so you ain’t so hot. You must be burnin’ up.”

Sissy helped him take his jacket off and looked down at his arm. “What’s this?” She took his arm and flipped it over, seeing the tattoo. “What in Sam Hill? Do you remember this?”

Five shook his head, also looking down at it. She let his arm go and sighed. 

“Well...you can always wear a bracelet over it.” She joked. “Now go get something you want to WEAR, ok?”

He nodded and ran back to get clothes, looking back at his arm.

Sissy smiled fondly and crouched down to finish tying Harlan’s shoes. “What do you think? We got a winner?”

He nodded and stood.

“You can wear ‘em out.”

She took his hand again and looked around for Five. He stood in the middle of the store, staring up at a mannequin wearing a polka dotted blouse. Sissy walked up to him. “Boy, you sure get distracted easily.”

“...I think you’d look nice in that shirt.”

She laughed a little. “You think so? I think I’d look like one of them Dalmatian dogs.” She ruffled his hair. “Come on. Let’s get you somethin’ nice to wear.”

\------

When Sissy walked into the house, she was immediately greeted with a less-than-happy Carl. He was sitting at the kitchen table, clearly ready to start an argument. 

Sissy just huffed, avoiding eye contact. “I know what you’re gonna say, Carl. I already feel bad enough.”

“You ran over a child, Sissy.”

“I didn’t run him over! I just hit him. And he ran out into the street. The doctor said he was fine. Just a sprained ankle.”

“What if you killed him? Where are his parents? Is that him? Why is he here?” He looked at Five, who looked down at his feet. Carl put his hand on his forehead and let out an exasperated sigh. 

“Harlan, why don’t you go show Five your toys?” 

Harlan took Five’s hand and led him over to a record player, turning some music on. 

Sissy looked back at Carl.

“His name is  _ Five _ ?”

“I don’t know. He said that’s his name. He’s also got a...tattoo on his arm.”

“A tattoo?”

“Yes. It’s like...an umbrella.”

“Are you sure it’s not a birthmark?”

“Yes, Carl. I can tell the difference between a birthmark and a tattoo. Jesus, Carl. The boy’s barely older than Harlan. Who lets their kid get a tattoo? Poor kid. Parents must not be around. Do you think he’s an orphan?”

Carl snapped his fingers and put his hand on his hip. “You know what it is? He’s from a cult. That’s gotta be it.”

“What? A cult? Seriously, Carl?”

“Think about it, Sissy. The weird uniform, the tattoo, the name, no parents near him. He’s gotta be a cult runaway. Gettin’ as far away from that cult as possible. He’s a cult baby!”

She looked over at Five, who was watching the record player as Harlan played with his trucks. Five looked down at the tattoo on his arm and stared at it blankly as if the longer he stared at it, there’d be a chance he could remember anything.

Carl put a hand on her shoulder. “He’s dangerous. If someone linked him back to us, it could get us killed.”

“I’m not gonna leave him alone. Don’t you want him to be away from a cult? We have to keep him.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but said nothing, knowing how stubborn she was. “Fine. But I’m not callin’ him ‘Five’, that’s a stupid name.” He walked off without saying anything else.

Sissy walked over to Five and sat by him. “You feelin’ ok?”

“Yeah...do you think my parents are looking for me?”

“Well...I don’t know. Someone’s gotta be lookin’ for you. Maybe your parents, maybe your brother or sister, maybe even a grandma. You’re a sweet boy, I’m sure that you’ve got family somewhere. Tomorrow we can put an ad in the paper.” She stroked his hair and kissed his temple. “Until then, you’re stuck with us, ok?”

Five smiled and nodded. “I can work with that.”

She sniffed and scrunched up her face. “You smell like you been sleepin’ in a barn. Go get washed up.”

He stood and walked off.

\------

Sissy laid in bed, staring at the wall. How was she supposed to be able to sleep after the day she’d had? Was Carl right? Was Five dangerous? She looked over at Carl, who could have passed for dead if he wasn’t snoring so loudly. 

A noise in the kitchen made her jump. She sat up, listening closely. After she heard another noise, she grabbed a shotgun and carefully walked into the kitchen. Five was climbing on the counter, struggling to put a bag of marshmallows back in the cabinet.

On the table was a glass of milk sitting next to a plate with a sandwich on it. 

“Five, what the Hell are you doin’? You scared the livin’ daylights outta me.”

He quickly got off the counter. “Sorry...I had a bad dream and couldn’t go back to sleep...so I made a sandwich.”

She set the gun down and sighed, sitting at a chair. “Bad dream? About what?”

He sat next to her, looking at the table quietly. “Corpses. Dead bodies under a building. Someone holding an eye. Meteors falling to Earth, destroying everything. I’m standing alone in the mess. I’m calling out names, but no one’s there. I’m alone.”

“That sounds like an awful dream.” Sissy put a hand on his, smiling sadly. “But you’re not alone. And you won’t be. Not as long as I’m around.”

“Can I say something weird?”

“Sure.”

“I think you remind me of my mom.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“I think so.”

She patted his hand and looked at the sandwich. “What’d you make?”

“A peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich.”

“Someone’s got a sweet tooth. We don’t really eat sugar this late, but I won’t tell Carl if you don’t.” She smiled, getting up and looking through the cabinet. She pulled down a jar of hazelnut spread. “Wanna add some of this to it? Make yourself a little s’mores sandwich?”

He nodded and she spread some on the sandwich and cut it in half. Five smiled, taking a bite out of it. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Because you’re a kid and you deserve to be treated nicely. Were you not treated nicely before?”

“I don’t know, but...I feel like if I had people that cared about me, I wouldn’t have been alone.”

“Oh, sweetheart...I know I can’t say for sure who your family is, but I know that without you this world wouldn’t be as good a place as it is right now. You’ve got a good heart. I can tell.”

He smiled weakly, taking another bite. Sissy looked over at the stuffed gorilla, which Five had sat in a chair next to him. “You like that big guy?”

“Uh-huh…”

“He get a name yet? Or are you just too old to name them?”

Five paused, looking slightly embarrassed. “I named him Luther.”

“Luther? Well that’s an interesting name. Why that?”

“He just looks like one.”

“Well I can’t argue with that. You seem to just have interesting names in your family. What about your name? You like that name? Five? Feels a little impersonal. Who just names their kid after a number?”

He shrugged. “It’s a name I guess.”

“Well we don’t have to call you Five if you don’t want to be called Five.”

He stopped, seeming to think it over. “Maybe you could call me Thomas.”

“Thomas? That’s a nice name. Sure. We can call you that.” She stood as he finished his sandwich. “Ok, now get back to sleep. You’re gonna learn how to live on a farm tomorrow. Long day ahead of us.”

“Can you stay out here with me? What if I get that dream again?”

She put his dishes in the sink and drummed her fingers, pretending to think. “Well I think that can be arranged, but next time you decide to make one of them sandwiches, you make me one, too. Deal?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She sat on the couch and Five, now called Thomas, laid against her, wrapping an arm around her in a half-hug. Sissy smiled and pulled the blanket over him. 

Whoever this strange child was, he certainly wasted no time making himself part of the family. And she could live with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my longest chapter at 2300 words. SURPRISE! Five is now a victim of his own stupidity again. Which means Luther will have to have the brain cell. RIP.


	6. 1963 (Apocalypse): Luther

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luther arrives and finds distressing news

**1963 (Apocalypse): Luther**

The portal spit Luther out, landing him on his back. He groaned in pain and sat up. “Five? Vanya? Allison!?” 

Gunfire filled the air and he jumped to his feet. He ran out of the alley, seeing soldiers shooting at each other as a tank drove by. Men lay on the ground, crying out in pain. 

He looked at a newspaper on the ground. 

_ NOVEMBER 25, 1963 _

_ Soviets Attack US _

“What the hell did we do now?” He asked with an exhausted sigh.

The tank next to him fired a shot, causing a ringing sensation in his ear.

He fell back, covering his ears.

Five stood in front of the missile, his eyes glowing blue. The missile froze in mid-air and rapidly began to rust until it became weak and brittle. It exploded and shrapnel scattered across the field. Vanya’s eyes glowed white, soldiers’ bullets and guns exploding in their hands. 

“Vanya!” Klaus yelled. A soldier aimed a rocket at her and fired. Klaus held his arms out and a troop of ghosts rose from the ground and blocked off the rocket as it collided with them. He panted, catching his breath.

A set of tentacles grabbed some men charging at them. They screamed in pain as they were thrown and hit the ground below.

Diego approached three soldiers. “Hey assholes!” They turned to face him and fired. The bullets circled around and shot through the heads of the men who sent them.

Six men surrounded Allison, who now wore short purple hair. She cupped her hands around her mouth with a smirk. “I heard a rumor that you all shot each other.”

Her voice echoed and they turned, shooting each other in the face. 

“Luther!” She looked at Luther and put her hands on her hips. “Where in the hell have you been!?”

He moved to help, but someone grabbed his shoulder. A bearded man in a blue suit looked up at him. “If you want to live, come with me.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“No time to explain. You see those?” He pointed to the sky, where several incoming aerial attacks were headed straight to the earth. “Those are nukes, old friend.”

Luther looked at the sky and back to him. “What about my family? I need to save them.”

“You can’t save them if you’re dead.”

He held out his hand and Luther took it. They both disappeared as an array of nuclear bombs crashed down, killing everyone including his family.

———

He and Luther appeared in front of a children’s boutique. Luther looked around catching his breath. 

“What the hell was that?”

“The end of the world.”

“I don’t recall Russia ever bombing the US!”

“It didn’t. Until your family showed up.”

He laughed. “Great. Just what we need. And who are you exactly?”

The man sat on a bench, sighing. “Well I worked with Five at the Commission. I also broke into your house and kidnapped your brother. I’m the one who tried to take your sister’s head off with a mace.”

“It was actually a flail.”

“Either way I’m on your side. I brought you back ten days before the end of the world. That should be enough time to get your family and go.”

“Ten days? We couldn’t do that in eight when everyone was together.”

“I’m only doing this to keep a promise to Agnes.”

Luther stared, pretending to know who that was. 

“Where is she now?”

“Dead. Cancer. We got a good 20 years together.” 

“Oh...I’m sorry for your loss.”

They didn’t notice three men getting off a bus, holding guns.

“What about the Commission?”

“I quit them years ago. I don’t owe them the fuzz off my peaches.”

Luther made a disgusted face at the imagery. He saw the men approaching and stood. “Then who the hell are they?”

Hazel sat up straight. “Shit. Run!” He shoved the briefcase into Luther’s arms, slipping something into his coat pocket.

Luther stumbled over his feet and ran as they shot at him. He crouched behind a car, catching his breath. The briefcase had multiple bulletholes in it.

Shit.

“Who the hell doesn’t have bulletproof briefcases in this line of work!?”

The Swedes’ footsteps approached the car and Luther heard them reloading more rounds.

Luther kicked the briefcase aside and threw the car at them. They ran out of the way and aimed their guns, only to see the defective briefcase. Axel nodded, signaling them to scatter and search the area.

Luther groaned, sitting in an alley as police cars sped past, presumably headed towards the gunfight. 

Could this day get any worse?

He looked up, seeing a curtain quickly close. 

Oh wonderful. He walked over to the door and tried to open it, but the knob wouldn’t turn. 

Locked.

He ripped the door off and walked up the steps. At the top of the steps was a glass door reading “MORTIMER GUSSMAN DDS” adjacent to a plain brown door.

He knocked on the glass door and a man opened the wooden one.

“What do you want?” He asked, sounding somewhat frantic and annoyed.

“Uh, hi. Is your window the one pointed at the alley?”

He looked up at Luther and shut the door in his face.

Luther sucked his teeth and knocked the door down.

The man yelped and dug through his drawer, pulling out a butter knife and aimed it at him.

“How’d you do that?”

“...With my hands?” He walked around the apartment, looking at the walls. They were covered in newspaper pages about aliens and UFOs. 

“Who sent you? CIA? KGB? The Pentagon?”

Oh he was a nutcase. 

“What...what do you want?” 

“...Are you familiar with Area 51? Roswell?”

The man laughed incredulously. “I knew it! I knew it! Eleanor always said my head wasn’t screwed on right. But I always knew!” He followed Luther a little too closely as he walked around the room, reading the articles. “I have to ask...why is it always anal probing?”

Luther stopped, unsure of how to answer that. “Well…I think a common misconception is that they probe humans for information about the planet, but that’s not entirely accurate. If they wanted information on the planet, they would consult a scientist or some other professional. I think what they do with probing is get information on the human. Their anatomy and physiology. How their organs work, what their digestive system is like, maybe even find out allergies and what their diet is like. It’s like dissection without the murder. As for the anal part, it probably has something to do with the pleasure center in humans being located in the anus in the men and in the vagina for the women. They probably choose that to make the experience more pleasurable for their abductees so they won’t feel uncomfortable when the aliens take them. Also to allow the humans to speak and breathe easy while the aliens get information out of them.”

The man blinked quietly. 

Luther held his hand out. “I’m Luther. You must be Mortimer?”

“Mortimer was my dad. I’m Elliott. He left me his dentist office.” He shook Luther’s hand. 

“Did you set all these contraptions up?”

“Uh...yeah. I did it myself.”

“Looking for something?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“The others.”

“The others?” 

Elliott pointed to pictures stuck to the wall. Each of one of his siblings. Vanya, Klaus, Diego, Allison, Five.

“They’ve been coming off for years. In that alley. First was the woman in the white suit, then was the really skinny guy talking to himself.”

“Klaus. They’ve been stranded here.” He turned to Elliott, making him stumble backwards over the couch. “I need your help.”

“My...my help. You need my help.”

“Yes.”

He quickly dug through a drawer. “Well I thought this picture looked a lot like arrival number four.” He showed Luther a newspaper clipping with a photograph of Allison.

“Allison.”

“Is that helpful?”

“More than you know.” He ran out, shoving the page in his pocket.

———

Allison sat in the group as people talked about their issues.

Dr. Moncton looked over at her. “Allison. You’re quiet today. Nothing to add to group discussion?”

She cocked her head and signed.

_ Just processing today. Taking in all the healing going on around me. _

He nodded, clasping his hands together. “Well let’s see. Last week you mentioned your father and how you felt like he was experimenting with you.”

_ Not with me. On me. And all my siblings. Pitting all of us against each other for his approval. _

“Did he? Or did it just feel like he was pitting you against each other?”

_ No. He literally did. He kept a scoreboard of who was doing the best. It was usually Pogo.  _

“The talking monkey?”

_ My dad was a scientist. _

“You know what I think it is? You want to feel special about yourself. So you make up these stories because you feel like you need people to think there’s something unique about you. What I see is a young woman who still defines herself by how she perceived her father. Your father was less than perfect and so you internalized it and made you hate yourself so much that you needed to make up these stories to have others pity and care about you.”

She shook her head. 

_ I don’t need pity.  _

“Well which is true? That you were always in competition with your brothers? Or that you want to go back home with them?”

She closed her eyes and took a breath to calm herself. 

_ Dr. Moncton. You’re right. I made up an entire life. I’m here because I refused to get help. And I can’t get better if I don’t admit it. I want to see who I am beyond these lies. And you can help. _

Lila, who was busy sticking cigarettes up her nose, started clapping slowly. The others in the circle joined in.

Dr. Moncton nodded, standing. “Alright. Quiet time until lunch.”

Lila leaned over to Allison and whispered. “You’re so full of shit.”

_ Was the ‘you’re the only one who can help’ too much? _

“He saw right through you.”

_ I’ve got him eating out of my hands. _

“Bet you three lunch Jell-O’s you’re wrong.”

Allison smirked. Lila took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Good luck.”

Allison took her hand away and wiped it on her pant leg. She walked up to Dr. Moncton.

_ I think I’ve been making progress, don’t you? _

“Well your violent tendencies have gone down.”

_ It was one time. _

“His nose was broken.”

_ Look, when do you think I’m getting out of here? _

“Well we can do another evaluation and see in another 30 days.”

_ 30 days? I need to get out of here now. I need to get back to my family. To my daughter! _

She glanced down at the pen in his pocket. 

“Here we go again. Allison, in three months your ex-husband and daughter haven’t come to see you once. How often did you see her before?”

_ Not a lot. _

“Then maybe it’s time to come to terms with the fact that maybe your daughter just doesn’t want to see you.”

Allison grabbed him by the front of his shirt, quickly slipping the pen into her pocket.

The orderlies went to grab her but she quickly backed up, holding her hands in the air.

_ I’m calm. I’m calm. _

She straightened her shirt and walked over to a table.

She messed with the purple bracelet on her wrist. One of many she had made. Each one for her siblings. She particularly liked the one she’d made for Diego. Just black beads with one plain white smiley face bead in the middle. It seemed funny. 

Lila sat next to her. “I told you.”

Allison huffed, slipping a large coral bead on a string. She clenched her jaw, trying to think. 

How would she be able to escape unnoticed? They always had people watching. 

“If you’re upset about the Jell-O’s, you can have them back.”

Allison ignored her, starting to braid the strands of beads she’d made.

“I know what’ll make you feel better.” Lila put her foot on the table, showing a strip of bacon hiding in her shoe.

Allison made a face and shook her head.

“Alright, suit yourself.” She took the bacon out and took a bite. “I  _ was  _ saving it for your great escape.”

_ What are you talking about? _

“I’m just saying. I can be very resourceful.”

_ No. I don’t need help. And you can’t help. _

“Well, that’s rude.”

Allison rolled her eyes. 

“Hargreeves! You got a visitor.” An orderly called. 

_ What? Who? _

“I’m not your secretary.”

Allison stood and walked off, leaving Lila to take the bracelet she’d made, which read ‘LILA’ in beads with a curled font, and put it on her wrist. 

She was led to the visitor’s room and stopped, seeing Luther. Then, she did the only reasonable thing one would do when they came face to face with Luther. She jumped over the table and started strangling him. 

The men pulled her off of him and started dragging her away, but Luther quickly stood. “No, no. She’s fine. She’s fine. That’s just how people in our family greet each other.”

They let her go and she sat in the chair, clasping her hands over each other.

Luther sat across from her, sighing. “Okay, so you’re still a little mad.”

_ Yeah. A little. _

“You’re not speaking? Mom said you would be fine.”

_ Yeah, well I’m just taking your advice. Don’t talk. You’ll just make it worse. _

Luther held his head in his hands and groaned. “I’m not getting into this argument with you. How long have you been here?”

_ 75 days. _

“75 days...I just got here today.”

_ How’d you find me? _

“Well even in the 1960’s, you love having your picture taken apparently.” He showed her the newspaper clipping. “Institutionalized for sitting in a police station crying for three hours. Gotta say, not what I expected.” He looked at the scar on her throat and sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have listened. I did this to everyone. This is my fault- where’s the necklace I gave you?”

She put a hand on her collarbone where the locket was. 

_ I traded it for a pack of cigarettes. _

“You started smoking again?”

_ Yeah, I tend to get stressed when I end up locked up in a sanitarium for three months because my idiot brother decided to piss our sister off. _

“Okay, mildly hurtful. That thing cost me a whole month of allowance to buy.”

_ Wait, you got an allowance? _

“...No.”

_ Whatever. Are you going to get me out or not? _

“...About that.”

_ What? _

He looked over at the orderlies and whispered. “It happened again.”

_ What do you mean it happened again? _

“You know, end of the world. It happened again. I saw it. All of you died. Nuclear explosion.”

_ Then let me get out so we can stop it. _

“No.”

_ No!? What do you mean no!? _

“How many ways could ‘no’ be interpreted, Allison? You need to stay here for the next ten days.”

_ You think I’m the one who caused the apocalypse? _

“Of course not. I don’t know who did. It’s to keep you safe.”

_ I don’t need to be protected, Luther. Especially by you. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.  _

“Allison-”

_ I’m getting out of here. I’ve already got the bars in my room filed down. I can be out by tonight.  _

“This is why Dad killed himself. Fine, you leave me no choice.” He stood, putting his hands in his pockets.

Allison smirked, thinking she’d won.

He looked at the orderlies. “My sister is very sick. She needs all the help she can get. She’s plotting an escape and has filed the bars down in her room.”

She dropped her jaw and stood, slamming her hands against the table. The men grabbed her and pinned her against the table, shoving a needle into her neck. “Sorry, Allison.” Luther sighed.

He walked out and rubbed his temples. 

Being Number One sucked ass. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter ended up being longer than I expected. I initially planned on having Luther finding the apocalypse and him reuniting with Allison in two separate chapters, but oh well. This is as far as I planned to go, but with so many people who liked reading it, I will continue. It won't be a FULL AU because I don't have the brain capacity for that. It'll be just some scenes that would change (Luther meeting The Handler, the execution of the Board, the FBI building, etc.) or scenes that I liked and want to rewrite with these new changes (Diego reuniting with Vanya, meeting 1963 Five, Klaus reuniting with Five, the dinner scene, etc.). I AM going to rewrite the scenes with Sissy for both reasons.


	7. Keeping Up with the Hargreeves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We catch up to the Hargreeves siblings and find out where they are after being stuck in Dallas

**Keeping Up with the Hargreeves**

Sissy walked in the door, holding a bag of groceries. “I’m back. Sorry I was gone so long.” She set the bag on the counter and straightened out her skirt. Five smiled back at her, sitting next to Harlan, who was playing with some toy trucks. “Did you and Thomas have fun today, Harlan?”

As usual, Harlan didn’t respond. Five looked at him and smiled sympathetically. He looked back at Sissy. “Yeah. We did. I took him to see the horses and we read James and the Giant Peach.”

“Any episodes?”

“No.” He shook his head. 

“Thank you for watchin’ him today. I know he’s not much younger than you, but I just had so much to do today and he didn’t want to leave.”

“I don’t mind. At this point, it’s like taking care of a brother.”

“Aw.” She smiled and walked over to him. “How are  _ you  _ feeling?”

“Better. My nightmares have been getting better, but I still don’t remember anything.”

Sissy kissed his forehead. “Well, then I guess we just need to get you somethin’ else to remember.” 

The Cooper family sat around the table, eating dinner while Carl was talking about his business meeting. He sold showerheads. Five didn’t get how it could be such an exciting job, but he guessed it had something to do with making money. 

Carl looked at him, gesturing with his fork. “I tell ya, Thomas, I almost got that son of a bitch.”

“Carl.” Sissy scolded. “Watch your language around Harlan.”

Harlan picked at his food, staring at Five boredly. Carl laughed. 

“Are you kidding me? If that boy says “son of a bitch”, I will buy him a BB gun.” His laugh showed it was a kind-hearted jest, but Sissy shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Hell, he says any damn thing, everyone’s gettin’ a Cadillac!”

Five gripped the fork tightly, trying to ignore the increasingly uneasy expression on Sissy’s face as she clenched her jaw. Harlan was a good kid. He wasn’t always easy to deal with, but what kid was? Harlan might not be able to speak, but he could still hear and understand what was being said. Five immediately faked a smile when Carl turned to speak to him.

“I tell ya, Thomas. They just don’t get it. It’s all about the grit. They think you just show up, smile, and boom, it’s done.”

“That’s not all it takes?” Five asked, almost sarcastically.

“No. There’s art and science to it. It takes skills to get to that boom.”

“The boom?”

“The boom!”

Sissy let out a genuine laugh as Five fake-jumped back in surprise. She stood, starting to put dishes up. Carl shook his head, looking at Five.

“You get any phone calls yet? I put another missing person ad in the paper.” He didn’t notice the wary look on Sissy’s face as she shook her head quickly. “I figure  _ someone’s  _ gotta be lookin’ for ya.”

“Well maybe I’m just not the kind of kid you miss.” Five smiled sadly. 

“I doubt that very much.” Sissy snapped from the kitchen. “I’m sure we’d miss you already.”

Carl stood, straightening his tie. “Well…” He walked over and grabbed his coat and briefcase from the stool on the counter. 

“Where do you think  _ you’re  _ going?” Sissy asked as he was putting his coat on.

“The office. I said I  _ almost _ got him. I don’t got him just yet.”

“Well, when will you be home?”

“Depends on how hard they make me work,” he held his arms out dramatically, as if presenting something, “to provide you with this wonderful life.”

Five looked over at Harlan, who took an interest in a wooden duck. 

“Just be quiet when you get back in. Don’t want you to wake the boys.”

“See you in the mornin’.” Carl put his hat on and started out the door. “Night, Thomas.”

“Night, Dad.”

Carl looked at Harlan. “Night, Harlan.”

Harlan fiddled with the toy duck as Carl shut the door behind him.

\------

A truck slowly made its way across the desert. It started hissing and slowed to a stop. Vanya stepped out, now sporting a pixie cut and groaned. “What happened now?”

“Well,” not-Leonard started, “I’d wager it started overheating and you ignored the signs and now it doesn’t work. But I’m no mechanic. So it could just need a nap.”

“God you’re so obnoxious.”

“Well your hair makes you look like a boy.”

“That’s the intention. How is it that after three years I can’t get rid of you?”

“How is it after three years you don’t realize that I’m only going to go away when you stop hating yourself?”

“I don’t hate myself.”

“Really? Because I’m your subconscious and I’m telling you that you hate yourself.”

“I’m ignoring you now.”

“Where exactly are you going?”

“You’re my subconscious, shouldn’t you know?” 

Vanya lifted the hood up, looking at the smoking engine. 

Not-Leonard paced almost menacingly. “Going back for your family won’t make them love you. Your family might not even be there. They’re probably happy without you. You have a community full of people who love you for who you are.”

“They don’t love me. They worship me.”

“What’s the difference? Allison had people worshipping her and no one blinked twice at that. Don’t you deserve it? Don’t you deserve to be with Jill?”

“No!”

“You don’t deserve love?”

“I’m not going to keep taking advantage of those innocent people who threw away their lives for me. They gave everything up for me.”

“Then take this blessing. Why shouldn’t you do what Allison did for all of her life?”

“Because I’m not Allison!”

Not-Allison cocked her head. “Oh, so you’re better than her? Is that it?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying!” Vanya groaned, holding his head and an energy blast shattered the windshield and burst the tires on the truck. 

“Why is it every time you use your powers, something bad happens? First the moon, now this.”

They both stared at the truck and groaned as they continued to walk through the scorching heat. 

Vanya walked into a bar, having chosen to take off his coat, stripping down to a tank top, as his coat was tied snugly around his waist. He walked up to the counter. “Excuse me, do you know when the next train to Dallas is coming?”

“Sure do.” The bartender answered with a smirk, refusing to elaborate. 

Vanya made an annoyed face. “Which would be  _ when,  _ exactly?”

“Three o’clock.” 

“Thank you-”

“Tomorrow.”

Vanya grimaced. “Super. Then could I get a water or some-”

The bartender walked off, leaving Vanya more annoyed than usual. Not-Leonard leaned against the counter, sighing blissfully. 

“This is nice. Just you, me, these smelly Texans. Great idea, Vanya. Even better than your idea of not listening to your family.”

“Hey, pretty boy!” One of them called.

Vanya turned to him. “Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“Oh, no thanks. I’m not into men.”

The man scowled. “Wanna play? While you wait?”

“Poker?”

“Yeah. Poker. You play?”

“Well I’m not used to it, but I play a mean game of Go Fish if you’re up for that.”

“Let’s play one round. To show you how it’s done, then.” He motioned to an empty seat. 

Vanya sat in the seat, grabbing a hand of cards. “Okay, well I can’t promise that it’ll be much of a round.”

Five rounds later, Vanya had a pile of cash in his corner and three men glaring at him. He stared emotionless, looking at the men around him. “Well, I think it’s time for me to go.” He stood, but the man in front of him grabbed his wrist. 

“One last round. Say you throw in that shiny little belt buckle you got. Make a nice addition to my collection.”

Vanya looked down at the belt buckle and saw something worth even more on the table.

“Alright. I’ll put the belt buckle in if you throw in your car keys.”

The man hesitated as Vanya took the belt off and set it on the table. 

“Unless you’ve got nothing.”

Not-Klaus cheered half-heartedly, sipping a drink. “You’ve got this. V. We all used to play poker as kids. Klaus would always try to make it strip poker and he would never shut up about it, so he just played in his underwear. Remember?”

The man put the keys in the pot and laid down his cards. “Full house.”

“You don’t got this.”

Vanya laid the cards down with a defeated sigh. “Well you win. Great game.” Vanya stood and reached over to shake the man’s hand, slipping the keys into his pocket. 

“You got some sticky fingers.”

“Do I? Well, I did play the violin for a while, maybe my calluses have something to do with it-” The man stood, punching Vanya in the face. 

Vanya’s eyes flashed white as a glass shattered on the floor.

“Well shit.” Not-Klaus said, watching with slightly more interest.

The soundwaves knocked everyone back and Vanya stood up, catching his breath. “Shit.” He stood and ran out with the keys. “Which truck is it?”

“Probably the one with the matching logo on the key.”

The men started chasing after Vanya. Vanya jumped through the window of a truck and climbed inside. 

“You could easily kill all these assholes. Just use your powers on them!”

“I’m not a killer! You know I don’t use them anyway!”

“You haven’t used them in nearly 3 years. They’ll just build up and destroy the moon like last time! So it’s either killing these dickheads or killing the planet.”

“Shut up.”

“I’d love to, but I can’t.”

Vanya started the truck and drove off, watching in the rear view mirror as the men stood in the parking lot, defeated.

\------

The sun set over a small brick house in a uniform neighborhood. Ray walked in, holding a newspaper, with the biggest grin on his face. “Did you see the paper today?” He held the newspaper up, reading from it. “Page one, paragraph five, line two: ‘When asked about the Southern Justice Coordinating Committee's upcoming threat to demonstrate during President Kennedy's visit to Dallas, White House press secretary Pierre Salinger responded by saying-’”

“What was that?”

Ray set his hat down and walked into the kitchen. “We made the paper! And here’s the best part! You’re gonna love this. And I quote,” he looked back at the paper, continuing, “‘As the president said earlier this year, the rights of every man are diminished-’”

“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are diminished.” Diego walked down the steps, smiling smugly. “I got every copy they’d legally let me buy this morning.”

Ray smiled adoringly. “I am the luckiest man in Dallas.”

“Are you?”

“I am. And you’re the most amazing thing I have ever seen.” Ray pulled him into a romantic embrace, dancing with him slightly. “And the best part of my life.”

Diego smiled, but it quickly faltered and he sighed sadly. 

“What?”

“Just...don’t get your hopes up about JFK.”

“Change is comin’, baby. I can feel it. I can feel it. Speaking of which…” Ray stepped aside and reached into his bag. Diego sighed, picking at his cuticles. Ray pulled something out and handed it to him. “A little pre-anniversary gift for my amazing “wife”.”

Diego laughed sarcastically. “You know that joke will get old eventually, right?”

“It never gets old if it makes you smile.”

“Well joke’s on Dallas, isn’t it? Man I wish we could have taken a picture of their faces. Being forced to let us get a certificate and marry or openly admitting that I’m a man and can’t marry. Either way it’s a win.”

Diego looked down at the present and untied the ribbon from around it. A blue book.  _ From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne. _

Wonderful.

“I see you looking up at the moon every night. Now you can take it wherever you go.”

Diego forced a smile and kissed him. It was a sentimental gift, but Ray clearly couldn’t read a room.

———

A crowd yelled with excitement as a large man gave Klaus a hard punch to the jaw, knocking him backwards. Klaus groaned, struggling to keep his footing as he suffered more fast punches to his body. Ben watched with silent worry and judgment. Klaus faced the man, who towered over him, and possibly even Luther. They exchanged punches, Klaus hitting him in several spots on his torso and also receiving several hits to the torso and one to the face. He stumbled, looking around at the crowd, his vision blurred and he spit up some blood. He ducked below another punch and did a jumping roundhouse kick, hitting the man in the jaw. 

He fell back against the wall of the ring. That seemed to be the wrong move. 

The man approached Klaus from behind and punched him in the kidney. The crowd gasped as Klaus fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. The man kicked Klaus in the face. Hard. Ben stood up from the wall, preparing to jump in to help. Klaus’ ears rang as he spat more blood out. Maybe even a tooth. He coughed, trying to gain his composure. 

One year of this. Maybe 16 more were to come. He tried to stand, but fell back to his knees, trying not to cry. That was all he’d wanted to do in the last year. But a crying man never did well in the 60’s. Let alone one like him. It was too late for him to leave this life and God knows what would have happened if he told Ruby that he didn’t enjoy getting the shit beat out of him for money. The ringing in his ears faded out and turned into the crowd cheering. Klaus looked over at Ruby, who was standing in the crowd.

Ruby nodded, giving him permission to end the fight. Thank God.

Klaus wiped his face and jumped on the man, wrapping his legs around his neck and jerking him to the ground. He spit on the ground and jammed his knee into his ribs. Ben sighed, too worried about his brother to be disappointed in him. In a stunning display of strength, Klaus pulled the man to be eye-level with him. And then slammed his forehead into his nose. The crowd went louder than before, filled with a mix of cheers and boos, as the man fell to the ground. 

Ruby nodded proudly. Klaus panted, starting to walk off. 

“Klaus!” Ben called as Klaus was charged at with a knife. Klaus grabbed the man’s arm and twisted it, digging his fingers into his wrist, causing him to drop the knife. He cocked his head, scowling, and bent the man’s arm upwards, breaking it.

The crowd went silent as Klaus dropped him to the floor. He looked at Ben, who could only stare at him with the same amount of concern he’d been staring at him with for the last 14 years. Klaus took a breath and walked out of the ring, ignoring the men who were booing him. “What the hell, man?”

He pushed past them and grabbed his earnings. It was a lot of money. That he soon discovered after actually starting to fight, he didn’t get to keep. It all went to Ruby. Something about his taxes, rent, and manager percentage or some bullshit. Ruby  _ did  _ pay him as his bodyguard and personal driver, but it wasn’t nearly as much as he’d won during fights. Just like with good, old Reggie. Trapped in this infinite circle of doing the dirty work and never seeing any of the reward. 

Klaus handed the money to Ruby. Ruby smirked, flipping through the folded bills. “Bring the car around.”

Never even a praise for his work. Not even a percentage of the winnings. He stared longingly at the money, trying to work out the possibility of survival if he’d just grab it and run. It was not high. He sighed, defeated as Ruby threw his shirt at him. “Atta boy.”

Klaus slowly made his way to the car, putting his shirt on. Ben walked with him quietly. 

“I know you’re just aching to say something, Benny. So go ahead and say it.”

“Is this the life you want for yourself? Getting your ass beat for money? That you don’t even get to keep?”

“I get to keep some money.”

“Yeah. Your paycheck for driving that asshole around all the time.”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh right, I also forgot that sometimes the waitresses give you their tips. Which you then use to buy alcohol.”

“Hey, hey. I don’t need life advice from the guy who  _ died  _ at 17! What do  _ you  _ know about living!?”

“I learn what  _ not  _ to do by watching you screw your life over and over again! I care about you too much to let you keep throwing your life away because you hate yourself so much that you just let people do whatever they want to you if they give you a quick buck or two!”

“Well if you hate watching me, then cross over.” Klaus got in the car, locking the door.

Ben appeared in the seat behind him. “You know that doesn’t work, right?”

“Yeah, Ben. I know it doesn’t work.” Klaus groaned, resting his head on the seat. 

At least he got some semblance of respect. No one ever made him the butt of their jokes and they listened to him. The waitresses loved him. He was non-threatening and never made a pass at them. It was a pretty low bar, but it felt nice having friends. They were all lovely ladies. And so this was what he was going to do for the rest of his life. Lurk around Jack Ruby all day, fight for Jack Ruby at night, and die in 60 years when his sister blows up the moon. Life could be worse. It could be a lot better, but it could be worse. 

\------

Elliott watched with great interest as Luther forked down a plate of ribs. “I really appreciate you going into town to get me some food.” He said, still chewing his food.

“Oh, no problem. I really appreciate that you gave me money to pay for it all.” He looked around the living room full of empty food cartons. “Chicken, ribs, hamburgers, turkey legs, shrimp fried rice, melon, oranges, kiwis, fried crickets, two extra large supreme pizzas. I think you’ve got every food group in this living room.”

Luther wiped his face and drank a gallon of milk, not giving himself a chance to breathe until he finished it. 

“Wow...How can you eat that much and still not be full?”

“Well, you know how I mentioned my dad?”

“Yeah. He turned you into a monkey. Then sent you to the moon because he’s a massive dickhead.”

“Yes. That. Well, I did some research and as it turns out, I wasn’t just bigger and hairier. Apparently, it also changed my digestive system. A silverback gorilla needs to eat about 45 pounds of food a day,” he took a break to toss some crickets in his mouth, “so I did some math and as it turns out, I’m supposed to be eating close to 30 pounds of food a day. I spent the last four years eating three square meals portioned out for humans. Which was roughly 5 pounds, being generous, of course. Turns out I’m  _ severely  _ malnourished because my dad never read any of the letters I sent him, so he never saw my letters telling him I needed more food.” Luther opened a bottle of soda, drinking it quickly. “I can’t even remember the last time I had soda. I don’t think I’ve  _ ever _ had soda.”

“Wow.” Elliott said quietly.

“And this is the first time I’ve eaten in a few days and my blood sugar was low and, fun little fact about me, when my blood sugar gets below a certain point...you know how when you haven’t eaten all day and you get really irritated and annoyed at everything and you become emotionally unstable?”

“Yeah.”

“Well imagine that, except you end up smashing everything and you become violent and start behaving like a rabid animal.”

Elliott scooted away from him slightly. “Well, are you full yet? I have some Jell-O in my fridge. Lime flavored. Got some nice cocktail shrimps in it.”

Luther made a face and shook his head. “No. No...that’s  _ your _ food.”

“So...how do I know you’re telling me the truth in all this and not just lying because you’re making fun of me?”

“How do you know I’m not lying about being from the future, trying to get my family home, being starved for 4 years, and being used against my will as a lab experiment by my father that ruined me emotionally, mentally, and physically, and finding out that everything I’ve ever known has been a lie?”

“...Yeah, that.”

Luther pulled off his glove and pushed his sleeve up, exposing a bit of his arm. 

“That’s amazing. I guess that explains my door.” He looked over at the door frame, where the door was gently set against the wall.

“I’ll pay for that I swear.” Luther said. He finally finished eating and went to clean up, but Elliott took the empty boxes from his hands. 

“I can clean up.”

“Are you sure? I’d feel bad making you clean all of this up.”

“It’s fine. I’m just honored you trust me with all this important information. Consider it a trade.”

“Uh...sure.” Luther wiped crumbs off his shirt as he stood. “Where’s the seediest bar closest to Dallas?”

“Uh, the Carousel Club, I think. Why?”

“I’m going to go find my brother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last bit wasn't needed, but I just wanted Luther to be able to eat for once and be able to talk to someone without judgment. It was self-indulgent. Also a bit of foreshadowing. None of this chapter was really necessary because they're all doing the same things and Allison's scene was supposed to be with this, but things don't go according to plan. And if I just did all the stuff that would be totally different, it'd just be an entire fic about Luther.


	8. Escape Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five and Sissy have a talk, Allison and Lila make their break, Luther reunites with Klaus

**Escape Plans**

Five rubbed his eyes, walking into the kitchen. “I can’t sleep...can I make me a sandwich? I’ll give you half this time.” 

Sissy, who was facing toward the open window above the sink, jumped and quickly turned around, hiding something behind her back, smiling nervously. Five sniffed, smelling the faint scent of cigarette smoke. She kept her mouth closed, blinking innocently. He smiled, crossing his arms. “Mom, are you smoking?” 

Sissy blew a puff of smoke out of her mouth and laughed. “Don’t tell Carl.”

“I won’t if you let me try one of his beers.” He said, innocently putting his hands behind his back. 

They sat in the barn, Sissy smoking in the open and Five holding his victory alcohol. “Go ahead and try it.” Sissy said smugly. 

He took a sip and immediately spit it out. She laughed as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve, grimacing. “I’ll take some juice instead.” He handed the bottle to her and stared up at her.

She sighed, looking out at the farm. “My mama would die all over again if she saw me right now.” 

Five tilted his head, looking at her. He didn’t think there was anything to be ashamed of. But he didn’t really know that much about parental expectations. But it was considered obscene for a woman to drink and smoke, apparently. That much he did know. He smiled softly. “Well this is a new side of you, I guess.”

Sissy chuckled, taking a small sip. “ _Men_ have sides. Women have secrets.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Men can wear their heart on their sleeves. Women have to keep it all bottled up. Can’t show them anything they don’t want to see.”

“Do I have to wear my heart on my sleeve?”

“Well you don’t really have any secrets, do you? None that you can remember, at least?”

Five was quiet. “Well...I see you guys married and hugging and kissing each other and...I don’t really want any of that.”

“What? Like bein’ gay?”

“It’s...like...I see myself in 20 years and I don’t see me in a relationship. At all. I don’t think I ever want to be in one. Relationships make me feel...queasy. I don’t know, it sounds dumb. It doesn’t feel like just teenager things. Like you know how when you’re young and you say “i want to grow up and be a doctor!”? There’s so much certainty in it that you know you mean it? It’s like that. I know for certain I’m not gonna want one. Am I broken?”

“Oh, sweetheart. Of course not.” She put a hand on his face. “The only ones broken are the ones with hate in their heart.”

He smiled, moving his hair, which had now become slightly shaggy, out of his face. Sissy took another puff of the cigarette.

“What about you? What secrets do you have?” He asked.

“I have an escape plan.”

“An escape plan?”

“A coffee tin underneath the sink. Every penny I save that Carl doesn’t know about goes in there.” She smiled tensely, as if she felt she was risking her safety by revealing this. Five only looked more concerned. 

“Why?” Was all he could ask.

“So I can breathe.” She took an even longer drag on the cigarette. “Carl’s a fine man. A good man.” Debatable. “But good men still leave. Or die. Sooner or later, every woman has to fend for herself.” 

Five didn’t like that thought. No one should have to fend for themselves. He tilted his head, suddenly curious. “So how did you two meet?”

“Because of a lie.” She answered with a small chuckle. “My sister told me she wanted to go see a boy, but really she was bringing _me_.” She shook her head, smiling at the memory. “I was too shy for my own good.” Her smile faded some. “Carl means well...works hard, loves his boys,” Five nodded. He could tell that Carl cared for them, even if he showed his affection to Harlan in a less direct way, “but I had silly dreams back then.”

“What did you want to be?”

“A counter girl at Neiman Marcus.” She fake-winced at the confession.

Five laughed a little. Not out of mockery, but because that was an unexpected answer. “Really?” 

Sissy nodded. “Daddy took us there once a year to buy perfume for Christmas. Music, the dresses, the smells. All the ladies at the counters looked like livin’ dolls. Still do.” She started into the distance dreamily, sighing sadly. “Could you ever imagine bein’ that elegant?”

“If it’s any consolation, you’re the most elegant woman I’ve ever met.” He comforted. She smiled slightly. “Especially in your new shirt.” He joked, motioning to the polka dot shirt she wore. 

\------

Allison gasped, waking up face-first in the small cell. She was wrapped up tightly in the straight jacket once again. God dammit.

Once she got her hands on Luther she was definitely going to murder him. She leaned against the wall, standing up and looked through the air slot in the door. Empty hallway. It was now or never. First she needed to get out of this jacket. 

What did Reginald always say? 

_If you can’t free yourself from even the most basic forms of human entrapment, then how can you expect to save the world?_

She started slamming her shoulder against the wall, grunting in pain. It hurt, but there was no pop. 

_Come on. How hard can it be to dislocate a shoulder?_ She gritted her teeth, jumping against the wall. 

There was the pop. And the pain. She lifted her good arm over her bad shoulder and leaned against the wall, trying to remember her training through the pain. She pressed her foot on the sleeves, pulling the jacket down over her head as she bent over. Once the jacket was on the floor, she hobbled over to the door, once again checking the hallway. She pulled out the pen that she was surprised they hadn’t found on her, carefully picking the lock on the door. 

She slowly opened the door and looked around the hallway. It was eerily quiet. No time to waste. Keeping her balance against the wall, she quickly started walking away, cheering at her victory. Unbeknownst to her that she was already being hunted.

The lights went off and the emergency lights started flashing. Still using the wall as a balancer, she walked toward the exit with much more urgency. She leaned against the wall, looking around the corner as an orderly marched in her direction, clearly expecting her. 

“Hargreeves.”

 _Shit._ She was so close. 

“What are you doing out here?”

She went to punch him, but he hit her before she could hit him, and she fell to the ground, grunting. 

“Let’s see how little you talk when I break your jaw.” He pulled out a nightstick, but before he could do any damage, he was knocked unconscious.

Lila giggled, holding a bedpan, as he fell.

Allison looked at her, confused.

“You’re not the only one who wants out, Chatty Cathy.” She pulled Allison to her feet. Allison yelled in pain.

 _My shoulder._ She weakly signed with her good arm.

Lila took Allison’s right hand and held it in her own. It looked as if she was leaning in to kiss her. It also felt like it. Allison also leaned in until their noses were touching.

And then Lila grabbed her arm and jerked her shoulder back into the socket.

Allison grimaced and moved her shoulder around. A perfect relocation. Impressive.

Lila put her arm around Allison, helping her move around as they continued toward the exit. 

A trio of men rounded the corner, holding guns.

Allison cocked her head. She’d never seen them before. They aimed their guns and Allison started running, grabbing Lila’s hand. 

“Who the hell are those guys?”

Allison shrugged as they turned a corner. Lila ran towards a broom closet. Allison ran into an office, turning a knob on the wall. Lila grabbed her and ran into the closet. The men walked after them as the patients’ doors unlocked and they walked out into the hall to see the commotion.

_Where the hell do we go now? We’re trapped._

“There’s a maintenance chute. We can crawl through.”

_How do you know about this? Have you been in here before?_

“Yeah, I like to make out with the janitor in here.” She answered sarcastically. “Do you want to ask questions or do you want to live? Into the garbage chute, flyboy!” She pushed Allison through. 

Allison grunted, climbing through and Lila climbed in after. 

Maintenance tunnels. They ran, hoping to find a door, but it was just endless hallways. They stopped, looking at a crossroads, trying to decide between the two.

“Right.” Lila said, pointing to the right.

_Why right?_

“Why not?”

Allison squinted suspiciously, but followed her anyway. They continued running and knocked into two officers.

“Thank God you’re here!” Lila said desperately. “Three men just tried to attack us.”

Instead of helping, the police who hadn’t been knocked unconscious, aimed his gun at Lila.

“Get your hands up now.” 

_We aren’t the bad guys-_ Allison tried to sign, but the officer aimed his gun at her. 

Lila kicked the gun out of his hands. She pulled him close, kneeing him in the stomach and finishing him off by knocking him out.

Allison stood, watching in disbelief. 

_Where’d you learn how to fight like that?_

“My mother.” She said proudly. Lila grabbed Allison’s hand and they continued their escape once again. They’d finally made it out of the sanitarium and patients had already scattered across the grounds, whooping with joy. But they didn’t head that way. They snuck through the back into the alleyway, taking a rest behind a dumpster. 

Allison sighed with relief. Never a dull day in her family. 

\------

Klaus watched a performer from the bar counter. He was more interested in the sailors watching. Mostly hoping he’d catch a familiar face. But, he hadn’t seen his face once in the last year. He was enlisting soon…

“Hey, Klaus.” A waitress said cheerfully as she walked up.

“Oh, hey Autumn. How’s business?”

“Still waitin’ on the big tippers to show up.” She sighed. 

Klaus looked over, seeing a drunk man leaning over his chair, trying to chat up Ruby. “Who’s that asshole bothering Jackie?”

“No idea, but he’s been puttin’ away vodka gimlets like they’re gonna run out of limes.” 

“Is he giving you any trouble? I can probably take him.”

“Nah, not yet-” they were interrupted by the drunk man talking loudly, trying to get Ruby’s attention. Something about showerheads. “But he’s getting there.” Autumn looked over toward the back. “But did you see that big guy in the back?”

“What big guy?” He asked, suddenly standing up straight, looking around. 

“In the back at that booth.” She pointed to the back.

“Holy shit.” Ben said.

There was the unmistakable Luther, squeezed into a booth, writing on a napkin. 

“I told him that he needed to buy something or leave.”

“Oh yeah What’d he say to that?” Klaus asked. 

“He ordered a banana daiquiri and pretzels and gave me a $20 tip. He must be drunk as hell.” She laughed at the ridiculousness of it. 

Klaus sat in the booth next to Luther. “So now you’re getting drunk at clubs? I guess you really did mean it when you said you wanted to be like me.”

“So great to see you, too. Hi, Ben.”

“Hi.” Ben waved, smiling. 

“He can’t hear you.” Klaus hissed. He looked back at Luther. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for my family if that’s ok with you.” He looked up from the napkin and at Klaus. “How long have you been here?”

“A year. Thanks to someone. I can’t remember who, but I _think_ it had something to do with him not listening to us and causing our sister to lose her mind and destroy the planet.”

Luther rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m aware of what happened. A year alone couldn’t have been easy.”

“Oh, I spent so many years alone before. What’s one more in a place where it’s legal to kill me for liking men, huh?” Klaus got closer, pointing an accusing finger at him. “I thought everyone was dead-”

He looked over, seeing the same man getting louder with Ruby. “Come on, Jack. Don’t make me beg.”

“I gotta go.”

“Klaus, I’m sorry. I should have listened to all of you. I should have done literally anything different. But please. I know what it’s like to be trapped in a place with no one else. Thinking that this is just how your life is gonna be from now on. Never knowing if or when you’ll see the people you love again...But you’re not alone anymore. We need to find the others because there’s another apocalypse in ten days and I don’t know how to stop it.”

Ben stared between the two, waiting for a response on either side.

Klaus shrugged. “I don’t give a shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, not much was different, but I think it's an interesting look between the new dynamics between the characters. I also didn't include Diego in this chapter because it didn't fit with the theme of the chapter and nothing would have really changed.


	9. Family Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luther makes a really stupid decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is out of order, but I was really excited about this chapter so I went ahead and did it. Once I get the others up, I'll go and put it all in order. I made this AU specifically for Luther to go feral. This chapter also made me realize that Kathy is a very pretty woman

**The Family Business**

Luther looked at the folded up piece of paper as he approached a building.

_ The Lonely Lodger Inn _

_ Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 1982 _

This was the place. He wasn’t sure if this was the best idea, but he was running low on time and choices. Besides, it’s not like this would be the first time he’d have to kill people. He’d been doing this since he was 12. It was just a regular day for him.

_ Wow. I should probably see a therapist if we make it out of this alive. _

He walked into the inn, being overwhelmed by the smell of water-damaged wood and cheese. People wore brightly colored traditional polka outfits. It must be a very popular place to gather. He approached a woman with a really bad perm who was setting a table up.

“Uh, excuse me, ma’am.” He squinted down at her nametag. “Kathy.”

She jumped and looked at him. “Uff da. You snuck up on me there.”

“Sorry about that.”

“You’d think I wouldn’t be caught by surprise by such a big fella.” She joked in a thick Wisconsin accent.

Luther forced a laugh and smile. “Yeah. I have light feet.” He looked away, rolling his eyes. “Are you the manager?”

Kathy nodded. “That’s what my nametag says. How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for the Midwest Soybean Society meeting. Do you know where it is?”

“Yup, just down there. Muskellunge Banquet Room.” She pointed to a hallway. He followed her finger, seeing a set of curtains at the end of a hallway. A shiny little vending machine caught his eye and he reached into his pockets, pulling a dollar out of his wallet. “Would it be possible for me to get some change?”

“Oh certainly. Let me just check my purse.” She dug into her fannypack that was definitely not a purse. “A nickel and a couple of dimes...ah. You...are…” she pulled out some coins and happily dropped them into Luther’s hand, “in luck!”

He did his trademark uncomfortable smile and nodded. “Luck isn’t really a thing my family’s known for.”

Her smile changed to confusion and he walked away towards the vending machine. He closed his eyes, taking a calming breath. 

This was just a normal day. He’d done this before. Seven years ago. All alone. And he ended up pretty much dead. Right. He was way too inexperienced for this. They were all pretty much homicidal little assholes, but to say he was rusty would be generous. He shook his head, stopping at the vending machine. A lot of good choices. Marshmallow Strawberries, Gumboons, Maltaloos, Pogo-Gogos, Muntees. But he was focused on only one thing. Fudge Nutter.

He put the coins in and pressed the buttons.  _ F6 _ .

The corkscrew twisted metal turned, but stuck, getting the candy bar stuck. 

Come on. He gently smacked the side of the machine, but the candy bar stuck. He repeatedly pressed the buttons to no avail. 

Normally he would let it go with an annoyed sigh. But alas.

Monkey brain.

Peanut.

He snarled, throwing the vending machine down and smashing the glass with the heel of his boot. After dusting the glass off of the candy bar, he unwrapped it and took a bite out of it. 

Nothing like eating a candy bar sprinkled with glass to calm your nerves before killing an entire room of people. He folded the wrapper over the remaining candy bar and put it in his pocket for later. He picked up a shard of glass and walked through the curtains, choosing not to use the emergency fire axe that was hanging on the wall. He played out the most efficient way to do this without bringing too much attention to the room. 

“Let’s move on to Article 17, please.”

Luther walked in, keeping his arms folded politely behind his back. “Hi, there.” He smiled, shutting the doors behind him. 

“Who the hell are you?”

“Oh, you don’t know who I am? Well, that’s...that’s surprising. Because my brother worked with you.” He broke the doorknobs off and tossed them to the side, still keeping the shard of glass in a hand behind his back. “You’re not gonna need those. None of you are getting out of here alive. Except you.” He pointed at AJ. “I was told to keep you alive.”

“Call security!”

A woman moved to grab the phone, but Luther grabbed her by the throat and threw her out of the window, getting impaled on the broken pane of glass. 

AJ quietly ducked under the table as Luther turned to the others, who were now panicking. Luther grabbed someone’s head and slammed his jaw down onto the shard of glass he’d been saving.

Two down.

He kicked the table at the others on the other side, pinning them down. “I’ll be with you in a second.” The remaining three members on his side of the table stared up at him in fear. “Oh, croquet mallets.” He picked two mallets off the wall and twirled them around. He put one in his jacket and hit one man in the face, pinning his head against the wall with the mallet. Luther quickly pulled the mallet out and shoved the handle into another’s eye. 

Another had his skull bashed in with a paperweight. 

Luther then turned his attention to the ones struggling to get from underneath the table. He jumped onto the table, hearing a satisfying crunch. One of them fell limp. He dropped the paperweight on someone’s head and, in what could only be described as a fit of gratuitous violence, he swung the mallet, taking another’s head clean off. 

Three down. 

A man was pulled from under the table and winced in pain. Luther held him by the throat and bashed him against the corner of the fireplace then dropped him to the ground. He picked up the fire poker and jammed it through one’s earlobe until it was all the way on the other side. Sadly, one of the two remaining board members suffered a case of a broken table leg impaling his kidney. Luther crouched down, twisting the last one’s head around. 

He stood, panting as he wiped blood from his face.

AJ slowly looked around at the carnage and jumped when Luther turned his attention to him.

“She sent you, didn’t she?”

“No, I’m just going around killing random people for fun. Thought I’d start with the room full of time-travelling assassins and a talking fish.”

“Whatever she’s offering you, I’ll double it...triple it!”

“Do I look like a man who’s concerned with money?”

He was tackled by Kathy the manager. 

“You’re gonna pay for that vending machine!”

“Seriously!? That’s what you’re concerned about!?”

He elbowed her in the face and got up, seeing that AJ had escaped through the doors that had been opened by Kathy. 

He ran out, seeing AJ headed towards the lobby. He pulled the mallet from his jacket and threw it at him, knocking him down. He walked over, pulling a shotgun from under his jacket and aimed it at him.

AJ stood on his knees, putting his hands up. “Surely we can come to some form of an agreement that benefits both parties? Quid pro quo?”

Luther laughed. “Sure. If you can stop the apocalypse.”

“I have no say in what can and can’t be stopped. These things just happen!”

“Wrong answer.” He cocked the gun, shooting AJ in the stomach and knocking him backwards, shattering the glass dome that housed his fish body. 

\------

Luther stood in the alley, holding AJ in a bag of water as he was shouting profanities. The Handler walked up, humming. “Well?” She asked.

He held the bag up, sighing and looking at the ground. 

“Oh, AJ!” She cooed, as if he was the most adorable thing she’d ever seen. 

Luther put his hands in his pockets, shifting on his feet.

The Handler looked at him. “You know if you lost the ugly sweaters, you’d make for a pretty handsome guy.” Luther said nothing in response. He liked his sweater. She cocked her head. “Why so quiet? Thought you’d be in a fantastic mood after getting back into that Number One headset. Killing people to save the world and all that. It’s basically what you were born to do.”

“I don’t like killing. I like saving.”

“Am I supposed to believe that?” She asked, pulling a handkerchief out of her bra and dabbing his face. 

“I did this for my family.”

“Let’s not be shallow, Luther. We both know the real reason you agreed to do this.” She booped his nose. She handed him a briefcase. “Here. Per our agreement. It’ll get you and your siblings back to 2019.”

He took it, looking at her slightly confused. She scoffed, putting her hand on her hip.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’ll get your old body back in good time. Just not now.”

“Why not?”

“Because it takes time to make a body and because you only have 90 minutes.”

“Wait, what? You never said anything about a time limit!”

She checked her watch. “Actually 89 minutes and 30 seconds.”

“That’s impossible. They’re all scattered across the city. How do you even expect me to get to them in time?”

“Swing from a vine. Nothing’s impossible. You proved that by killing the board.”

“I don’t have the time for this!”

“If you get more time, people will start asking questions. The sooner you get home and out of this period, the better things will be for the both of us. So tick tock, tick tock. Fly, my pretty, fly.”

Luther scowled and ran off. 

He was right about at least one thing.

Luck always escaped his family.


	10. Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start falling together as people find each other and share a brain cell. And Luther gets increasingly tired of his siblings' shit

**Reunions**

Luther followed Klaus, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and turning him to face him. “What the hell do you mean you don’t give a shit? I just said the world’s ending in ten days!”

“Yeah, and? It’s probably Vanya. Maybe you pissed her off again. You’re Number One. You go save the world. I’m done being a hero. I have a job here.”

“You work here?”

“Yeah. I’m a bodyman.”

“...Like a hooker?”

Klaus sucked his teeth. “You know, if you’re gonna be a dick, the least you could do is actually be drunk so you have an excuse.”

“I’d _love_ to get drunk, Klaus. This is easily the second worst day of my life and I would love to get shit-faced and forget about it. But I have a duty to protect this family no matter what.”

“...What’s the first worst day of your life?”

Ben rolled his eyes.

“Gee, I don’t know, Klaus. Probably the Christmas when Dad didn’t get me that pony I wanted. What the hell do you think it would be?”

“Hey, you can be an asshole all you want. Jackie takes care of me and I take good care of him.”

“Okay now you really do sound like a hooker.” Ben said. 

“Jackie? Kennedy?” Luther asked, confused.

“No, Ruby.”

“Jack Ruby? The guy who killed Lee Harvey Oswald?”

“Yeah, him.”

Luther blinked and shook his head. “Your brain’s finally been fried from all those pills.”

“Hey! He’s a good friend! Better than any of you assholes have ever been to me.”

“You’re part of a team-”

“There _is_ no team! Not in 1963. There wasn’t even a team in 2019.”

Luther sighed. “Look...I get it. Life’s been rough. You’ve been trapped here-”

“Because of you.”

“Our house was destroyed, you were kidnapped and tortured, I wasn’t really making you feel any better by dragging you into my depressive episode-”

“It’s more of a depressive _series_ at this point.”

“But I’m asking for your help. The world needs you. I need you. We all need you.”

“You guys don’t need me. You never did. I was always standing in the sidelines. Even Dad said I was his greatest disappointment.”

“Yeah, Dad also said Vanya didn’t have powers and that we were allergic to candy.”

Autumn walked up. “Klaus, Jack’s about to lose it.”

“I’ll be right over-”

Luther grabbed his shoulder. “Klaus-”

“Look, Luther. It was Five who told us to jump. Go find him before bothering anyone else.”

“You don’t think I’ve been looking for him? I don’t even know where he is.”

“Try getting a cup of coffee, the little shithead would flock right to it.”

Luther rolled his eyes.

Klaus jerked his arm away. “Why don’t you go find Vanya and shove her in a broom closet? And if I _was_ going to help anyone, it _certainly_ wouldn’t be you. After all the shit _you_ pulled. Why would _anyone_ want to help you? You destroyed Ben’s statue-”

“Diego started it.” Ben argued. 

“You blamed us for killing Dad, when you finally realized that Dad was a shitty person, you got so drunk that you had drunk, probably unsatisfying, sex with some girl, while _I_ lay dead on the club floor because her boyfriend was going to beat your drunk, hairy ass, and-”

“Okay, Klaus. I get it. I was a shitty brother. I _am_ a shitty brother. I didn’t listen to anyone. I’m arrogant, annoying, I think I’m better than everyone else because Dad made me leader. You all hate me. I can live with that. I’ve been living with that for a while. But can we save the hating me until after we save the world?”

“No. Because the world isn’t worth saving. If you’re wanting to save the world, you’re just gonna have to do what you’ve always done. Face it alone.” 

Klaus walked off, grabbing the drunken man by the arms. 

He yelled, jerking away, slurring his words. “Get your sticky hands off me!”

Luther sat at the bar, sighing. Maybe he wouldn’t always be facing things alone if they hadn’t left. He stood from the bar, getting his pocket caught on a loose nail in a stool. “Dammit.” He checked his pocket and felt something inside of it. He pulled out a yellow cartridge box. 

What the hell?

He furrowed his eyebrows, remembering the man named Hazel. He must have slipped it in when he wasn’t paying attention. Maybe he really had been done with the Commission.

_Date: 11/23/63_

_Subject: Frankel Footage_

A tape. Great. Something else Elliott could help out with. 

\------

Sissy hurriedly dug through her purse and searched through drawers. “Have you seen my keys?”

“No, why?” Five asked.

“Carl needs me to pick him up.”

“From the office?”

“From the bar.” She looked at him, trying not to show how mad she was. “He just called me from a payphone. Drunk as a skunk.” Sissy found the keys sitting on a side table and sighed.

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s not your fault.” She looked at the newspaper he’d been reading. “Any luck? Someone find you yet?”

He shook his head, forcing a smile. “Nothing yet.”

Sissy was about to say something comforting, but Harlan came in, holding a book. He tapped on Sissy’s arm with it, looking up at her.

“Oh, no, no, sweetie. I have to go out. But Thomas can read it…”

He groaned, shoving the book into her hands. 

“Harlan, Harlan. Come on.”

Five walked over, trying to pull Harlan away, but he wouldn’t move. “Let’s go back to bed.”

“Harlan, honey…”

Five looked up at Sissy. “I can go get him.”

“Are you sure?”

“I can get a taxi and make sure he gets home. And you can stay and read to Harlan.”

Sissy smiled. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but, I wish I’d run you over years ago.”

\------

Lila and Allison crouched behind a car, watching a police car drive past. Allison, still crouched, ran across the street as the police car disappeared around the corner. They turned into an alleyway behind a group of apartments. She got Lila’s attention and signed.

_We can’t stay here. They’ll be looking for us._

“The cops or those big Scandinavian guys with guns?

_Yes._

Allison climbed on top of a dumpster and onto a balcony, starting to pull clothes off of a line that were hanging up to dry. 

“What are you doing?”

_Getting changed._

She climbed back down and quickly started changing.

“Well where are my clothes? I thought we were making our great escape.”

Allison huffed. _I appreciate your help, but we’re going our separate ways now. I have family business to attend to._

“Oh? Do you now? Why can’t I go with you?”

_Because you’re not family._

“You owe me. I saved your life, or did you forget that?”

_They’ll be looking for us. Together._

Lila smirked, moving against her. “Maybe I like being together with you.”

Allison opened her mouth, unsure how to respond. 

“What? Am I finally gonna hear you say something?”

Allison rolled her eyes and climbed back up, getting Lila some clothes and throwing them down to her. She jumped back down, tucking the shirt into her pants. _Just hurry up and get changed._ Lila barely managed to get the dress down her legs when Allison pulled her behind a pillar as a cop car drove by, shining a flashlight around the area. 

Lila looked up at her, smiling. “Your fly’s down.”

Allison looked down at her pants and Lila laughed. “Gotcha.”

The police car drove through, turning a corner and driving off.

“We can take my car.” Lila said.

_Your car?_

Lila picked up a brick and threw it at a car window. Allison raised her eyebrows. Oh this chick was _really_ a criminal. Lila got in and started messing with the wires, getting the car started.

Allison stood, watching in both impression and disbelief. 

“What?” Lila asked, seeing that she hadn’t moved. “You don’t like the color? Stop being a bloody princess and get in!”

She jumped, and shushed her, looking at the windows to make sure no one had heard her. She ran over to the other side of the car, pointing to the open window. _You know this window was open, right?_

Lila grinned as they drove off to cause more trouble. 

\------

The taxi approached the Carousel Club and Five got out, looking at Carl, who was leaning against a payphone booth.

“Jesus. Look at you.”

Carl looked up at him, looking as if he’d been crying. “Sissy mad at me?”

“What’s it you guys like to say? Not mad. Just disappointed.”

“Oh come on. Everyone knows that’s worse!” He sighed. “Did she say that, or you just...making an assumption?”

“You lied to her. Well you told her you were going to work and then you went to a bar. So it was very implied.” 

Five helped him up to his feet. “Okay...get in.”

“She still love me?”

“Of course she does. Why wouldn’t she?”

“You just don’t get many chances with women like her. You’re lucky. You know that?”

“I am?”

“You got a blank slate. You got another chance. To be whoever you want. Most men don’t get that. They don’t get to be someone new. You do.” 

Five helped him into the backseat of the taxi, shutting the door. 

Klaus spotted a wallet on the floor. He picked it up, looking at the ID inside.

 _Carl Cooper_.

Great. That drunk asshole dropped his wallet. He sighed and turned on his heel. “Guess I’d better return his wallet before he has to come back.” He walked outside, looking for him.

“Klaus. Klaus.” Ben repeatedly smacked his shoulder.

“What-” Klaus turned where he was pointing and froze, seeing Five opening the backdoor of the taxi cab.

Five looked at him and got in, shutting the door.

Both Klaus and Ben stared in stunned silence as Five looked at Klaus, confused, as the taxi drove by.

“...What the hell just happened?” Klaus asked.

\------

Diego and Ray laid on the couch, sleeping, as the TV played on. It’d been an extremely long day. It was always a long day. Especially in the 60’s. 

They were both awoken by a banging on the door. 

“What the hell?”

There was another banging. 

Diego rushed to the door, reaching for the knives he had hidden in his boot. 

The door was kicked open and two police came in, aiming guns. 

“Put your hands in the air!”

Ray quickly obeyed, backing up. Diego didn’t. He still crouched, ready to grab the knife. 

“Put your hands in the air!” 

He looked over at Ray, who had his hands behind his head. “Diego, just listen to him! Put your hands up!” 

Diego sighed, putting his hands up. 

The other cop punched Ray in the stomach. “Raymond Chestnut, you are under arrest!”

“What? What for!?” Diego yelled. 

“What’s the charge?” Ray asked, all too calmly. 

“Assault and battery.” The arresting cop said, putting cuffs on him.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“You don’t remember? You beat a man at Odessa’s.” The cop aiming a gun at Diego said. 

“That wasn’t him, that was me!” Diego argued. “He was gonna hit us, so I hit him first. If he didn’t want to get his ass beat, he shouldn’t have provoked us.”

Ray yelled as the cuffs were tightened on him. 

“You don’t want to do this.” 

The cop remained unfazed. 

Diego stepped forward, slowly reaching for his knife once again. 

“Put your hands up, or you’re going with him.”

“Diego, Diego. It’s okay. I’m gonna be okay.” Ray said as they started dragging him away. 

Diego clenched his jaw as the officer put his finger on the trigger. “Are we going to have a problem?”

“...No. Officer.”

The officer backed up, still keeping the gun aimed until he was out of the house. 

Diego sighed, leaning against the wall, wiping his eyes. Honor and integrity. What a joke.

\------

Luther looked at the pictures of his siblings on the wall. “Elliott...you developed these yourself, didn’t you? Here in your apartment?”

“Yeah. Can’t exactly take these to the neighborhood Fotomat.” He answered, eating a bowl of cereal and adjusting a radio scanner. 

He tore the sticker off and held up the box. “Can you develop this?”

Elliott took it, looking at it. “What is it? Family video?”

“Uh...not sure...My...friend gave it to me as a gift. Can you do it?”

Elliott paced, making an unsure sound. “I’m running low on acetic acid. Beeker’s Cameras is open today, but it’s two miles away. I’d have to take the bus. On the other hand, Gibbon’s is only ten blocks away, but I gotta cut through the park and there’s pigeons-”

“Elliot!”

“Yeah. Give me like...Five, maybe six hours.” Elliott quickly mumbled.

“Attention all units, we have a code 3-15 at the Holbrook Sanitarium.” The police scanner reported.

“What’s a code 3-15?”

“Fugitives on the run.”

“God dammit.” He walked over to the scanner, listening in. 

“25 patients still at large. Many are considered armed and dangerous.”

“Allison…”

“Who’s Allison?”

“The main reason I’m starting to think that I don’t want to date women.” Luther started back out. “You finish that film, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He stormed out, scowling. 

\------

Lila and Allison sat in the car by a park. “Okay, so what are we doing exactly?” Lila asked. “Just waiting for the cops to show up and arrest us again?”

Allison finished cutting her hair off, looking at the overhead mirror to make sure she’d cut all the lingering strands. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked at Lila.

_I’m going to try and assassinate Lee Harvey Oswald._

“...Who is that? And why are we trying to kill him?”

_You already think I’m crazy, don’t you?_

“Yeah. I mean, sane people don’t get locked up and put in straight jackets.”

_Good. I’m not actually going to kill him. I’m just going to try and kill him to bring the Commission to us so I can have them get us home._

“...Right, I totally know what that is. But in case I don’t know, would you mind explaining it to me?”

_They keep the timeline stable. My brother worked for them. If I can get them to come my way, I can tell them what’s going on and they can get me and my family home and I can go back to my daughter._

Lila laughed. “You really are crazy. You belong there.”

_Thanks._

“What makes you think that plan will work? I mean, won’t they just kill you?”

_It’s not a good plan, but it’s all I’ve got._

“I think you should start with letting yourself talk.” Lila said, running her finger across Allison’s scar.

Allison smacked her hand away. 

_Get out. I told you this is family business._

“Dr. Moncton was right. You hate yourself so much that you needed to make up these stories to have others pity and care about you.”

_You don’t know anything about me._

“I know everything about you. You’re the most cliche open book I’ve ever read.”

_I’m not making this up to get anyone’s approval._

“So you’re just making it up for fun, then?”

Luther leaned in the window. “The only thing she’s doing is going back to the Sanitarium.”

Lila jumped. “Who the hell are you?”

“Her favorite brother.” He answered, getting in the back of the car. 

_Who got me put in solitary confinement._

“I did it to protect you.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet.” Lila said genuinely.

Allison scowled. _Okay. Out. Both of you. I can do this on my own._

“Leave her here and come with me.” Luther said. “We have important business.”

Allison scoffed, crossing her arms. 

_I’m not going anywhere with you._

“You are so frustrating to talk to. Why did I ever have a crush on you?”

“...You just said she was your sister.” Lila said. 

“Long story.” 

_Long story._

Luther sucked his teeth, seeing an officer walking down a sidewalk. “Fine. Be that way.” He poked his head out of the window. “Excuse me, officer-!”

Allison turned around and pulled his head back in, glaring at him. He stared back. “I hear there’s a reward out for you two. If we’re gonna be stuck in the 60’s, I might as well be stuck here with some money.”

“He’s bluffing.” Lila said. 

Luther cocked his head.

Allison scowled. _He’s not. Fine. I’ll go. But she’s coming with._

\------

A policeman dragged a balding man in large glasses into the department, past Diego, who was sitting on a bench, doing tricks with a butterfly knife, getting more and more antsy and annoyed.

“Oh, so it’s illegal to hand out flyers now?”

“Without a permit, it is. You know this, Keechie.”

“Oh, I didn’t know we were living under Communist rule!”

He was thrown into a cell and the door shut behind him. 

“Okay, thank you.” He said, stumbling on his feet. He looked over and gasped with joy.

“Holy shit!” He walked over to Vanya, who sat on the bottom of a bunkbed. He got to his knees, grabbing Vanya’s hands. “It’s you!”

“...Have we met?” Vanya asked. 

“Yes. No. I saw you speak. In Berkeley in ‘61.”

“Oh.” 

He had no memory of that. 

“Yes. You changed my life!”

“Did I?”

“It was...it was fantastic. The next day, I quit my law practice, my superficial life, I came to where it all started. I’ve been spreading your message of love and acceptance ever since. I have so many questions.”

Vanya smiled, exhausted. “I’m sure you do. But this...this isn’t the best time to talk, is it?”

“Uh…”

“Because we’re in jail.”

“Oh. Right.” Keechie laughed, holding his hands even tighter. “You have such a sense of humor.”

Vanya pulled his hands away and wiped them on his pants. 

It had been a long night. Stealing that man’s truck was not the best idea, but it _did_ get him to Dallas. So it worked. In a way. 

“Do you have any nuggets of wisdom you’d like to share?”

Vanya looked over at not-Ben, who was smirking at him. He hated him so much. 

“Life's like this, you fall, and you crawl, and you break. And you take what you get.”

“That’s...brilliant! You’re so full of wisdom.”

Vanya nodded and stood. “Here. Take my seat and think on it.” He walked over to a seat across the cell, groaning. 

“Avril Lavigne. Nice choice. You sure you didn’t want to choose Dolly Parton or Beyonce?” not-Ben asked. 

Vanya scowled. 

“Hey, they all think you’re a smart guy. You should stay with them.”

“A fool thinks himself as wise. A wise man thinks he’s a fool.”

“The line is actually, ‘a fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.’”

Vanya looked over at the man in the next cell. “Your dad had you read Shakespeare, too?”

“I taught it. Spelman College.”

“You were a professor?”

He nodded. “But then life took me on a different path.”

“Same here...I used to be ignored by everyone and now I can’t go anywhere without people walking up to me and expecting me to be this thing that I’m not. It was great at first but it’s exhausting. And the people that _did_ ignore me are the only ones I actually _want_ to see.”

“Remember your Twelfth Night. ‘Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.’”

Vanya winced. “But Shakespeare had no idea what it’s like in my family. We were all supposed to be born great.”

“Perhaps. But it’s in the struggle that folks find their true calling.” He stuck his hand through the bar. “Raymond.”

Vanya shook his hand. “Vanya.”

The holding cell opened. “Pretty boy, you’re free to go.”

“Why does everyone keep calling me that?”

“I’m gonna guess it’s because you’re pretty.” Not-Ben said. 

“Why are you still Ben?”

“Because you miss him.”

Vanya turned to the officer. “Why am I free?”

“Got a call from the governor.”

“You got some powerful friends, Vanya.” Ray said. 

Vanya stood, walking out of the cell. “Yeah. I don’t even know the guy.”

“Well if you _do_ meet him, make sure he knows my brothers here are being held without charge.”

Vanya turned to the officer. “Is that true?”

“Feel free to file a complaint.”

Vanya was dragged away. 

\------

Luther and Allison walked into the apartment.

Elliott came storming out, aiming his gun at them. “Where did you get the film? The _truth_ this time!”

Allison looked at Luther. _You know this guy?_

“He’s a friend...pretty harmless.”

“Are you sure about that?” Lila asked.

_He’s aiming a shotgun at us!_

“Are you or are you not an enemy of the people!?” Elliott asked.

“...Well that depends on the people.”

_Yeah. A really open-ended question. I’m a black woman in the 60’s, so ‘the people’ are all my enemy._

Luther shrugged in agreement. 

“You move one more muscle and I’ll blow your brains out.” Elliott threatened. 

_You want me to deal with him?_

“Nah. I can handle it.” Luther crossed his arms. “You remember what I said about my blood sugar getting low, Elliott? Well I haven’t eaten yet and I’m feeling a bit irritated right now. So why don’t you hand me the gun and you won’t see what happens when people try to shoot me?”

Elliott looked at him nervously and handed the gun to him. He took the gun, breaking it in half. 

“What the hell just happened?” Lila asked.

Allison sat on a chair, watching as Luther carefully rewound the footage.

Lila sat, painting Elliott’s toenails, who was tied to his chair and gagged.

An old woman was on screen, talking to her husband, who was recording. They were arguing about whether or not it was recording. 

Lila smiled at the couple. “I love old couples. I’m always so proud of them for not killing each other.”

“Shh.” Luther said, focusing on the screen.

Lila made a face at him.

Allison sat up, hearing the husband speaking. “-today’s date is November 22, 1963.”

“That’s 6 days from now.” Lila said. 

_This is when JFK gets shot. How did you get this?_

“Hazel gave it to me before he died. It must have to do with doomsday.”

_Hazel?_

“Long story.”

“Doomsday?” Lila asked.

“Even longer story.”

_What did he say to you before he was killed?_

“He didn’t get a chance to explain, but whatever he wanted us to see, it was on this footage.”

Elliott started to get increasingly uncomfortable as the footage continued. There was a loud bang and the camera dropped.

Allison looked closer at the footage. She leaned over and smacked Luther’s arm, getting his attention. _Rewind it._

He nodded, rewinding it. He paused it and pulled the projector back, enlarging the screen.

Allison stood, approaching it. Luther did, too. 

“Holy shit.”

“You gonna fill me in now? What are we watching?” Lila asked.

_That’s impossible._

“Clearly it’s not.”

They looked at each other nervously.

“What is it?” Elliott asked, muffled by the gag. 

“Dad.”

_Dad._


	11. Connecting the Dots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus reunites with Five, Diego finds out that there's a cult with a familiar logo, and Allison and Luther share one brain cell. Ben also discovers he can possess people.

**Connecting the Dots**

Sissy hung up towels to dry as Harlan watched a plastic windmill. Five walked outside. “Okay, snack time.”

Harlan ran through the sheets and up to Five, putting his hands on his face. 

“Wanna play hide-and-seek?”

Harlan nodded, looking at Sissy for permission.

She sighed, smiling. “Okay. One game. I’ll finish setting up inside.” She walked inside, patting them on the backs. 

Five looked at Harlan. “You’d better go hide.” 

Harlan ran off. Five covered his face, counting.

Klaus drove up to the fence on the edge of the farm, looking at the address on the driver’s license.

“So, what’s the plan?” Ben asked.

“We talk to Five. Ask him what the hell he’s doing here, and how we avoid the apocalypse this time.” Klaus said. “ _ If  _ Luther is right.”

“Right.” Ben looked as Five walked toward the barn. “This place doesn’t look like the kind of place he’d hang out in. Maybe the Commission is hunting for him? Or he’s undercover?”

“Maybe. Only one way to find out.” Klaus got out of the car.

“Harlan?” Five called out. “You in here?” He jumped back as pigeons flew out. “Shit.” He looked around. “Come out, come out wherever you are.” Five wandered around, looking behind farm equipment. 

“Five?”

Five jumped and turned around. Klaus stood at the door and laughed incredulously. “Five, oh it’s you!” Klaus ran up to him, hugging him tightly. “Oh thank God. I was so afraid we’d be stuck here forever. Holy shit. I found you. You can get us home.” Klaus wiped tears from his eyes, choking on his sobs. “What the hell are you doing here? Why are you dressed like Forrest Gump?”

“...Do you know me?”

“Wha-? Yes I know you. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I’ve been putting ads in the paper for a month. No one ever responded.”

“Ads? What?”

“This isn’t good.” Ben said. 

“How do you know me?” Five asked. 

“I...I’m your brother. You don’t remember me?”

He shook his head. “I had an accident. I can’t remember anything...What do you mean stuck here? Where are we supposed to be?”

Klaus looked, unsure of what to say. 

“What happened to us?” Five asked nervously.

“You don’t remember anything? Luther, Vanya, me? The moon?”

“The moon?”

“...” Klaus sighed, holding his face in his hands. He laughed desperately. “Oh great. The one person that could get us home and you can’t even remember anything!”

“Klaus, you’re scaring him!” Ben said. 

“Oh, I’m scaring him? The boy who murdered people for fun? How terrible of me!”

Five stepped back, unsure of what to say. 

“Shut up, Klaus! He can’t help it if he can’t remember.”

“Of course he can’t. Now we don’t have a way home! And we’re gonna be stuck here forever or die because he’s the one who botched the jump and can’t remember how to fix it! God dammit, Five!” Klaus sobbed.

Ben growled and went to punch him, but something more surprising happened. 

He fell to the ground. In Klaus’ body.

_ Holy shit. I’m possessing you. _

He sat up and looked at Five, who was beyond terrified. Harlan ran up to Five, hiding behind him.

“Who’s the kid?” Ben asked.

Sissy cocked her gun, aiming it at him. “My son. And you got about ten seconds to explain what you’re doin’ here.”

Ben stood and dusted the hay off his pants. He reached into Klaus’ pocket and pulled out the wallet. “Your husband left his wallet at the Carousel Club.”

She took it, putting the gun down. “Next time use the front door.”

“...Yes, ma’am…”

Ben walked out, trying to remain in Klaus’ body.

Sissy looked over at Five. “You okay, son?”

He nodded, trying to process that strange interaction. 

Klaus ran to his car and vomited Ben up. 

“What the hell was that!?” Klaus asked.

“I think I possessed you.”

“Oh, you think? How!?”

“Probably because I’m a ghost.”

“Since when could you do that!?”

“I don’t know. Can we do it again? I just really want to eat a greasy cheeseburger one time.”

“Ben, you’re a vegetarian!”

“But it’s your body, so it doesn’t count.”

Klaus groaned, leaning against the car. 

\------

Allison paced nervously. 

“Would you calm down?” Luther asked.

_ How can you tell me to be calm!? _

“Yeah, that’s a big mistake. You should never tell a woman to calm down.” Lila said. 

Luther rolled his eyes. “I admit, it looks pretty bad.”

_ Yeah. You think Dad killed him? _

“What? Why would he kill the president?”

_ Uh, because Dad was power-hungry and had to have everyone either respect or fear him. How are you still defending him? _

“Dad wasn’t a nice person, but a presidential assassin? Come on. Even that’s a little far-fetched.”

_ Then what is he doing standing on a grassy knoll with an umbrella on a sunny day in Dallas, at the exact moment when Kennedy gets killed? _

“I said it looks bad.”

_ He’s the signalman. He has to be. _

“Allison, I think all that nuthouse Jell-O has made your brain into mush.”

She scowled at him.

“Even you know that that’s not his thing.”

_ Oh and you’d know what Dad’s ‘thing’ was? You think you know everything about him because he spent all his time coddling you? Treating you like the golden child while we all were written off as ‘lost causes?’ Because you stayed with him until he kicked you out? Everything you ever knew about him was a lie. How can you still defend him? He’s not going to come back from the dead and say ‘I’m proud of you, son.’ _

Luther flared his nostrils, looking away.

“You think I’m just ignoring everything he did? I’m aware of what he did and, yes, I hate how long it took me to realize that he didn’t give a rat’s ass about me. I gave my entire life for him. And all it got me was this.” He vaguely motioned to himself. “But I  _ do  _ know that Dad wouldn’t do this. Why don’t we just ask him?”

_ Oh. So  _ now  _ you decide that it’s a good idea to ask someone what happened before deciding what to do with them. _

“Oh my god.” He rubbed his temples. “I’m not talking to you right now.” He walked over to a table and grabbed a phonebook. He looked through it. “Damn. ‘Hargreeves’ isn’t in here.”

Allison walked over.  _ Try his company. DS Umbrella Manufacturing. _

“Yeah. I think I know the name.” He said sarcastically. He flipped the page, looking through the names. “Holy shit. I found it. 82 Olive.”

_ Let’s go, then.  _

He shut the book and looked over at Elliott and Lila. 

_ Should we leave him here like that?  _ She looked at Elliott, who was still tied up, now letting out muffled screams.

Luther made a face. “Uh...I’m sure he’ll be fine. He can use that time to calm down. If we let him go now, he’ll probably go to the cops. What about your friend?”

Allison looked, seeing that Lila disappeared. 

_ Shit.  _

She walked off, finding Lila in a darkroom. 

Lila was curled up against the wall.

_ What are you doing in here? _

“Getting some fresh air.”

_ In a closet? _

“...There’s a draft.”

Allison sat next to her, looking at her with concern. She put a hand on Lila’s, signing with one hand.  _ I have to go with Luther, ok? I’ll be back later. _

Lila wiped her nose, sniffling. “It’s happening again, isn’t it? I’m seeing things, aren’t I? Last time I saw things, they locked me away…”

Allison shook her head, taking both of her hands. 

“Maybe I shouldn’t have left-”

_ Stop it.  _ Allison covered her mouth and wiped a tear from her eye.  _ You aren’t going crazy. There are just...some things you don’t understand even though you know it’s real. Right? _

“Like yogurt? How does it know when to stop being milk?”

Allison blinked and nodded.  _ Sure. Like yogurt. That’s all this is. It’s yogurt. I swear. On my life.  _

Lila held up her pinkie. “Pinkie swear?”

Allison nodded, taking her pinkie. Lila smiled, kissing Allison’s pinkie. Allison did the same to Lila’s, taking note of the bracelet she was still wearing.

She stood, looking at Lila.  _ I have to leave you with Elliott, okay? Family business. I’ll be back soon.  _

Lila watched her walk out, unsure of how to feel.

\------

Diego leaned against the cell, sighing. 

“We need to think of a plan in case I’m not out in time for the sit-in.” Ray said quietly.

“No, you’re gonna get out. I’m gonna get you out. This was a set-up and I fell for it.”

Ray took his hands. “Diego, they were gonna arrest me no matter what. They can’t have us makin’ noise, embarrass them when the president’s in town.”

“I made it worse…”

“No. No you didn’t. You make everything better. You make  _ me _ better.” Ray smiled. 

Diego smiled back. “You make me better, too...I’m not as angry around you. Because...I know that I’m actually fighting for someone who cares about me.”

Ray touched his face. 

“I’m curious, though...what were you gonna do?”

“Hm?”

“With those police officers. They both had guns. You were reaching for something. You looked like you were about to fight them. What were you gonna do?”

_ Kill them.  _

Diego took an uneasy breath. “We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

“Let’s go, sir.” The officer said, getting Diego’s attention. 

Diego looked back at Ray. “Honor and dignity.”

“Honor and dignity.” He mumbled back. 

Diego walked out, stopping as he saw Keechie waving goodbye to him. “Where did you get that tattoo?” He asked, pointing to the umbrella tattoo sticking out from his shirt sleeve.

“All the children of the prophet have it.”

“Uh-huh. Any idea where I can find this prophet?”

\------

Five sat at the table as Sissy poured him some milk. “I keep asking myself where I know that guy in the barn from...I’ve seen his face before.” 

“Honey, you’ve been with us more than a month. You wouldn’t associate with men like that. And he certainly wouldn’t have taken this long to find you.”

“He said it was my fault we were here. That I was the only one who could get us home.” He chose to leave out the part where he mentioned the murder.

“Well all the more reason to avoid him. Who blames a kid for all their problems? So whatever happened, it was definitely not your fault.”

Five sighed, taking a drink. “I just wish I could remember…”

“The doctor said it’d take time, sweetheart. Don’t rush it.”

“I have no idea who I was…”

“Here, give me your hands.” She held her hands out. Five put them in her hands and she looked at them. “Looks like you may have used an axe from the way these calluses form on your hands. Maybe did some woodwork.”

_ The boy who murders for fun. _

Five quickly pulled his hands away, making Sissy look at him surprised. “...I’m just gonna go to bed. Good night.” He hurried into his bedroom and laid down, staring at the wall. He closed his eyes, seeing the rubble of a fallen building. Hearing the sound of fires around him. Bodies under the rubble. All with the same umbrella tattoo. He saw the face of the man, staring up at the sky, eyes wide open, but the life out of his body. 

He sat up, gasping, unsure of what to do. He did the only thing he apparently knew how to do. He grabbed the car keys off the side table and snuck out to the car. Sissy ran to the door, watching him drive away and leave his family.

\------

Luther and Allison approached the building. 

They got out of the car and slowly walked up to it. “82 Olive, this is it.”

Luther slowed to a stop as Allison continued. She turned and looked at him.  _ Are you okay? _

He nodded. “Yeah...Just...nervous.”

_ How long has it been for you?  _

She crouched, starting to pick the lock on the door. 

“Four years...Four years on a giant rock. With nothing. He wasn’t even going to send me food. He was just going to let me...starve to death.” 

She looked up at him, shocked. 

“All those years...receiving no messages or anything...of course a part of me was thinking that maybe Dad didn’t care about me at all, actually. That he just sent me away because I wasn’t useful to him anymore. I was happy to be proven wrong when I finally received a message. And then I found out that it was just Pogo telling me he was dead...so yeah. I get ignored for four years and it took him slitting his own throat for me to get the memo that he doesn’t care about me...and every day, I’d hear his voice in my head. You know what he’d say?”

_ Stop gluing the monopoly man’s face on my portraits, Number Two? _

He laughed a little. “He’d always say ‘do better, Number One. Quit feeling sorry for yourself and do better. I expected more from you, so don’t disappoint me.’ He never even bothered to remember our names.”

Allison said nothing. Not that she couldn’t, or that she didn’t want to. Comforting people wasn’t her specialty. Why was this door so hard to open?

She dusted herself off and looked at him.  _ Well, if Dad’s here, he hasn’t met us yet. So he’ll only know us by our names. _

“He’ll find a way to number us.” Luther pulled the door open, breaking the lock

Allison looked at him, crossing her arms.  _ You couldn’t have done that to begin with? _

They walked inside, looking around. It appeared to be just a dusty old office. Allison turned on a lamp, but the bulb almost instantly went out. 

“Huh. Guess the building’s the same as him. Old, dusty, refuses to work.”

_ I’m sorry, did you just make a joke? At Dad’s expense? _

“Don’t tell Diego. He won’t let me live it down.”

Allison patted the furniture. It was stiff and moldy. Clearly no one had been in here in a while. She and Luther looked at each other. He opened a door. “I’ll take the left. You take the right. Yell if you get into any trouble.”

She shot him the bird behind his back.

“Yeah, I heard it as soon as I said it.” He said, not looking back.

Allison walked down a hallway that was lit with an eerie bluish light. She grabbed a doorknob, jiggling it. Locked. She tried the one on her right and jiggled it, but it didn’t move. As if it had been nailed in place. Something felt off about the door. Mostly in the fact that she didn’t feel one. She reached out, only feeling air. She hit the lightswitch outside the room, turning the lights on

A family of mannequins sat in what looked like it was supposed to be a living room. Behind them was a painted mural designed to look like a window outlooking a neighborhood.

The power in the room went out, returning everything to pitch black.

Nope. 

She turned around and walked out.

Luther walked into an office, turning a lamp on. Everything on top of the desk was coated in years of dust. He walked around the desk, examining it. Everything seemed deliberately placed to look like someone was using it, but it seemed way too uniform. He opened one of the folders on the desk, only to find blank pages. He opened the other one with the same results. 

Footsteps down the hall caught his attention. He followed the retreating footsteps just in time to see a door closing at the end of a hallway. He opened the door, leading him outside to a parking garage, seeing the silhouette of a man walking away and fading into the fog.

He lingered for a minute before deciding to follow after.

Allison found another model room full of mannequins. This time it was a dining area. Three just like last time. Only they all had brown wigs on and a camera was facing them. 

She wasn’t interested in them, as creepy as they were. She was looking through folders and papers on a desk, finding only blank pages. Some writing caught her eye. It was a piece of mail. For Reginald. 

An invitation to a consulate. She put it in her pocket and grabbed a pen, hearing a clanging. 

Luther stayed at a steady distance, following the man. 

Allison slowly approached the continued clanging sound and stopped in her tracks, seeing a baby chimpanzee walk out from his hiding place.

_ Pogo?  _

She slowly walked toward him, crouching. He was so tiny. And in pajamas. 

Pogo looked up at her, chittering quietly. Allison smiled, holding her hand out to him. 

_ It’s alright, Pogo...I’m here. _

He screeched, scratching her neck. She yelled in pain, holding her neck, falling to the ground.

Pogo jumped through a window, running off.

Allison slowly stood, running out of the room. 

Luther crouched under some bars, finally catching up, only to find an empty basement. 

What the hell was this place?

Reginald, or who he thought was him, jumped down behind him. Luther turned around and was kicked in the chest, knocking him back.

Luther broke a wooden crate, swinging the planks. The man grabbed his hands and twisted them, making him drop the weapons. He jammed the side of his hand into Luther’s throat and pushed him back. 

He went for another kick, but Luther grabbed his leg and threw him back. The man landed on his face with a grunt, but was quickly back on his feet. 

They exchanged an even amount of punches, Luther of course, not feeling them very much in the first place. It was like getting punched by Betty White. 

He wasn’t trying to kill him. Just get some answers. 

He went to punch, but his wrist was moved to the side and the man pushed the ball of his hand into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. 

Why was it so hard to fight?

Luther groaned, holding his chest. Okay, now he was getting pissed. He tossed him aside, pulling a rebar pipe out of a wooden pallet. He twirled it around, swinging it. The man ducked under it, going for yet another kick. Luther hit his foot and slammed the rebar into his hand before he could get a punch in. He tossed the rebar aside and picked the man up by the front of his shirt. 

Something poetic could be said about how the moonlight reflecting through the windows of the basement showed Luther the face of the man who had made him familiar with said moon.

But all that could be said was “Dad?”

And then Reginald shoved a knife into his stomach. 

Luther dropped him as Reginald pulled the knife out.

Reginald scoffed. “I expected better.” 

He walked off, dropping the knife next to Luther’s body, holding Pogo’s hand.

_ Man,  _ his dad was an asshole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I sort of switched roles at the end, but my need for monkey-on-monkey violence was not as big as my need for forcing Luther into easily winnable fights that he refuses to win and getting stabbed.


	12. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luther finds Five, Diego finds an unexpected surprise, Klaus makes a difficult decision, and Allison realizes she's not straight

**The Aftermath**

Luther yelled in pain, feeling a burning sensation in his side.

“Shh!” Lila yelled, sitting on top of him, cleaning his wound. “Don’t move. This thing is very finicky.”

“What the hell happened? Is that a soldering iron? Were you following us?”

“I saved your stupid life, so you’re welcome. That’s two now. One for you and one for your ex-girlfriend/sister.”

Luther groaned and looked down. “Where the hell are my clothes? Why am I naked?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, bigfoot. I had to take your shirt off to clean this gross stab wound.” 

He went to sit up, but she pressed the iron against his stomach again. “I said don’t move!”

He yelled again, passing out from the pain. 

Allison ran into the room.  _ What the hell is happening!? _

“You’d think a big man like him would be able to handle a little bit of pain. Poor guy. Looks like he cries during sex.”

Lila looked at the fresh scratches on Allison’s neck. “What’d you do? Try to give yourself some matching scars?”

_ My dad’s pet monkey attacked me. _

She looked over, seeing Elliott asleep in the chair, still tied and gagged. She looked back at Lila, confused.

“Did you want me to untie him?”

\------

Five sped down the road, driving past a cornfield. He tried to think.

Why did he have dreams about that guy?

If he was telling the truth, where was the rest of his family?

Why did he steal the car?

When did he learn how to drive?

Who was that standing in the middle of the road?

He stopped the car, seeing a car on the side of the road, shining its headlights. A man in a white suit holding a flashlight was waving him down. This could only end well. Five stopped, watching with curiosity as the man approached. Five felt the hair on his neck stand as the man got closer. His instinct was proven right as two other men showed up from the cornfield, aiming guns.

He slammed on the gas and drove past them, looking back as they shot at him. He looked back at the road, seeing a ditch right in his path.

He shielded his eyes, bracing for impact, but grunted, landing in the middle of the cornfield by himself.

“What the hell?” He looked around, trying to find a path to safety. He ran along, ducking below the stalks. He crouched down, catching his breath. There had to be a way out. He closed his eyes, trying to think of a way to escape without those guys tailing him. 

He ran off again, disappearing in a flash of blue light and landed in front of one of the men. “Shit!” The man aimed his gun at him and Five slowly backed up.

His eyes flashed blue as the man pulled the trigger. An energy wave knocked the men back, rusting the bullet, and wilting the stalks of corn around them. All the men landed hard on the ground and Five ran off. 

Elliott yelped as an alarm on one of his machines went off. “Hey, Luther! One of the machines you asked for is going crazy.”

Luther rushed over, looking. “Which one?”

“Uh, the atmospheric radar.”

He nodded. “Thanks.”

“What exactly are you tracking? A hurricane? Storm front?”

“Temporal anomalies.”

“Tempora...tempora wha-?” Luther walked out before he realized he had gone. 

Day broke and Five still sat in the cornfield, unsure of what to do or where to go. He kept his knees close to his chest. He wasn’t even sure if what had happened had happened. 

The sound of cornstalks rustling made him stand on alert. What would he do this time? Would they be trying to kill him? He backed up and watched anxiously.

Luther smacked an ear of corn out of his face, stepping into the clearing. 

He saw Five and dusted his jacket off. “Hi.”

“...Hi. Are you gonna try and kill me, too?”

“Not really on my to-do list, no.”

“Who are you?”

“Your brother.”

“I have another one?”

“Another? Look, Five, it’s not safe here. Those assholes with guns could be back to finish the job.”

“Why are they trying to kill me?”

He followed as Luther started walking back. 

“Well you, specifically, probably a number of reasons. But I think the main one they’re focused on right now is that we’re not supposed to be here.”

“In Dallas?”

“In 1963.”

They stepped into the clearing and Five saw the circle of wilted stalks. “Whoa…”

“Yeah...guess you got yourself a new power. My guess is the opposite of time travel. Instead of pushing yourself through time, you push time through other things, making them go through their life cycle in a matter of seconds.”

“You got that from a guess?...What powers!?”

\------

Klaus walked into the Club, whimpering slightly.

Ruby looked up from the sewing machine. “You alright?”

“Hm? Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Just...fine.”

“You better be. I got a lot of big hitters bettin’ on this fight tonight. You are up for it, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. I just...you have a lot of shady connections, right? People who can find others?”

“What are you doing?” Ben asked angrily. 

Ruby shrugged. “Yeah, you could say that. Why? You lookin’ for someone?”

“Klaus-”

“It’s just...there’s this person I know who’s gonna be sent out to war soon and...I may never see him again and I want to...say goodbye. But I don’t know where to look for him.”

“Klaus, this is selfish and you know it.” 

Ruby pondered for a moment. “Alright. Gimme a name, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Can’t have my number one guy mopin’ like a sad puppy.”

Klaus wrote the name on the napkin, handing it to him. Ruby looked the name over. “Dave Katz?”

“It’s actually Daveed, but people just call him Dave.”

Ruby nodded. “Great.”

“You’re so good to me, Jackie.” Klaus smiled sadly, ignoring the death glare he was getting from Ben. 

\------

Diego walked up to the large, white mansion. Well, this was unexpected to say the least. He walked into the house, looking around. Lavish antiques that cost more than his life were everywhere. He stopped, looking at a large painting of Vanya. Looking almost as stoic as Reginald did in his paintings. 

Vanya never had any paintings. 

He sighed, walking to the back where he heard water splashing.

There Vanya was, lying on a pool floatie, drinking an alcoholic drink, in sunglasses, wearing striped swim shorts and a tank top.

“Vanya?” Diego asked.

Vanya sat up on the floatie, looking at Diego. 

“He’s here to kill you.” Not-Diego said. 

“Diego…”

Diego jumped into the pool, pulling him into a hug, holding him tightly. 

Vanya was unsure how to respond. “You’re...you’re not mad at me?”

“What? Of course not. Oh my God, I was so worried.”

“About me?”

“About everyone. I thought everyone was dead.”

“...I thought you guys might have left me.”

Diego looked at him, confused. “What? No. Why would we do that?”

“Because I blew up the moon and destroyed the planet.”

“And killed Pogo.” Not-Diego added.

“And killed Pogo.”

“Vanya...I’m sorry. About everything. About how I treated you, about blaming you for everything going to shit...I was a terrible brother.”

“He’s only saying that because he knows you can kill him now.”

“You’re my sister and I love you.”

Vanya smiled a little. “Brother now.”

“Brother? Cool.”

“Are you crying?”

He shook his head, but ended up nodding. “I thought everyone was dead...we have so much catching up to do. We can start with how you ended up starting a cult.”

Vanya laughed, lying back on the floatie as Diego sat on the edge of the pool.

“Someone saw me using my powers and they ended up thinking it was so cool, they started worshipping me.”

“So, why the tattoos?”

“Well the tattoos in the family always seemed pretty cultish. And they wanted a symbol to represent our family...so I went with that.”

“So why the raindrops?”

“Because where there’s rain, you’re likely to see a few umbrellas.” Vanya took a sip of his drink. “There’s also this figment of my imagination I’ve been seeing that’s telling me all these negative things about myself and you guys and trying to get me to hate myself and use my powers.”

“...Why?”

“I don’t know. I think he’s some sort of coping mechanism to deal with all the...stuff that I did. He's kind of been shutting up for the last day or two, so I think I'm getting better emotionally.”

“I don't think that's how it works. Besides you were lied to for your entire life. And treated like shit. Let’s be real. You were coping pretty well, relatively speaking. When Luther found out Dad lied to him, he turned into an even bigger asshole. On purpose.”

“Dad lied to Luther?”

“Oh, you didn’t know. Right. His whole moon mission? Total bullshit. Dad didn’t even care. Just wanted to get him out of the house.”

“That’s awful...After what Dad did to him, he had to rub it in his face…”

Diego shrugged. “I did tell him it was all bullshit.”

“Well, enough about me. What about you? How’ve you been? You lost an eye?”

“Someone threw hot coffee at my face my first night here.”

“Oh my God.”

“I live in South Dallas as a civil rights organizer.”

“That’s amazing.”

“With my husband.”

“Wait, we can do that?”

“My birth certificate said I was still female, so they had to let me marry him.”

“Your birth certificate is in 2019.”

“I made my own...so now he’s married to...Dora Hargreeves.”

“Diego...Dora. What? Is your middle name Boots?” Vanya laughed. “Who’s the poor soul who got sucked into this family?”

“Raymond Chestnut.”

“Ray...is he in jail right now?”

“...Yeah. How’d you know?”

“I met him when I was arrested for stealing a truck.”

Diego laughed. “You committed your first crime.”

“I mean, I did murder two people.”

Diego cleared his throat and sighed. “I can’t get him out. He was arrested on some bullshit charge.”

“Why don’t you just...throw your knives and break him out?”

He shook his head. “I don’t do that. I don’t break any laws. Even unjust ones. I haven’t even used my powers since I’ve been here. I’m learning to fight with my words. It’s boring as hell, but it makes him happy.”

Vanya nodded, looking over at the not-Diego, who had decided to give up and go back to not-Leonard. “I’m glad one of us is happy.”

\------

A waitress poured coffee for Luther. “Could you leave the pot, please?” Luther asked. 

She set it down and walked off.

He poured some coffee into Five’s cup and looked down at him. “Drink up, you’re probably exhausted after the night you had.”

“I don’t like coffee.”

“...Wow, you really hit your head pretty hard, didn’t you?”

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“Well...when we were babies, we were adopted by this billionaire. We were all raised in an academy to be superheroes.”

“Like the X-Men?”

“Yeah. Except Professor X is a dickhead.” He took a drink of coffee. 

“Is my name actually Five?”

“Well, technically, it’s not really a name. It’s just a number. Our dad couldn’t even be bothered to give us names. He numbered us and we named ourselves. There’s me, Diego, Klaus, Allison, Vanya, Diego, Ben. You chose to just stick with Five because it was the only name Dad would ever call you.”

“So what’s your name?”

“I’m Luther.”

“Oh, like the stuffed gorilla I have.”

Luther glared and sighed. “Well it’s nice to know you missed me.”

“How did we get here?”

“The world ended in 2019 and to avoid dying with it, you jumped us all back in time. We got scattered across different times. I’ve only been here a few days and all I’ve managed to do is piss off two of our siblings and get shanked by our dad, so it’s not going too well for me.”

“What do you mean the world ended?”

“I mean,” he mimicked an explosion, “ended.”

“What happened?”

“...The moon blew up. It all hit the earth, wiping everything out.”

“What blew up the moon?”

Luther paused and sighed. “How’d you end up here? In this part of Dallas?”

“I just remember waking up in an alley and getting hit by a car. Hit my head and can’t remember anything...they kind of adopted me.”

“Well we can’t stay here. The apocalypse followed us here and it comes in ten days.”

“How did it follow us?”

“I don’t know. But I saw it. You all die. Nuclear bombs…”

“I need to make a phone call.” Five jumped off his stool and ran over to a phone on the wall. 

He put some coins in and dialled.

Sissy ran over, answering the phone. “Hello?”

“Mom?”

“Thomas? Where the hell are you?”

“I’m sorry I took the station wagon.”

“I don’t care about the damn car. I’ve been worried sick about you.”

Sissy winced, holding her wrist.

“Are you okay?”

“No. I’m not. The record player broke and Harlan’s...upset. What happened? Where are you?”

He looked over at Luther. “I found another brother…”

“What? Another one?”

“It’s a long story. I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Sissy sighed. “I’m glad you found your family...but be careful. You don’t know what kind of folks they are.”

Luther took the phone from Five. “Hi, this is his brother. I’m sorry, but he can’t talk right now.” Luther hung up.

“Hey! What the hell!? That was my mom!”

“No. She’s not. Your mom sells you to a billionaire 26 years from now and completely forgets about you. This woman is just someone who raised you because she felt guilty about running you over.”

“Don’t talk about her like that.”

“Five, I’m sorry, but we can’t stay here. Those men are going to come back looking for you and if you go back to her, they’ll just kill her to get to you.” Luther sighed. “They won’t stop until we either get back to our own time or we’re all dead. And doomsday is looking more realistic right now.”

Five looked up at him, sadly. He felt hot tears forming in his eyes and followed him out.

\------

Allison stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hair, which was now more evenly cut and a nice shade of purple. Lila sat on the couch, messing with something she probably shouldn’t have been touching. 

“Purple?” Lila asked, looking up at her. “What? You don’t think the brightly colored hair will make you look  _ more _ conspicuous?”

Allison sat down, pulling Lila away from the potentially dangerous equipment. 

“Are you hungry? Elliott’s making moldy tuna.”

_ What? _

“Tuna mold.” Elliott corrected, setting a table up. 

Allison shook her head.  _ I’ll pass. I’m going after Dad. _

She stood, going to Elliott’s bedroom to find shoes that would fit her.

Lila walked after her. “I’m sorry, you’re doing what?”

_ Dad attacked us last night. He knows we know something. _

“Or he attacked two crazy people who were breaking into his workplace.”

_ You didn’t see what I saw. Something’s up with him.  _

“It’d be a lot easier to talk with you if you would actually speak.”

Lila pushed Allison on the bed, sitting on top of her. “You’re not going anywhere. You were attacked by a monkey and you probably have rabies. So you’re probably going to die.” She rolled off of her and laid down beside her. “Besides, he probably didn’t know you were his kids.”

_ Wouldn’t have made any difference. He probably would have actually killed Luther if he  _ did  _ know. _

Lila shrugged and held her hand. “Well I’m glad you didn’t die.”

Allison looked at her.  _ You followed us. Why?  _

“You said you would be back soon, but soon came and you didn’t show up. So I went after you and I saw that smelly man on the ground...That’s how I found my parents. Lying in puddles of their own blood. A home invasion.”

_ I’m sorry to hear that...I can’t imagine how you must have felt. How old were you? _

“Four.”

_ You never mentioned that before… _

“You never asked.”

Lila moved, lying on her side, looking at Allison. Allison moved to mirror her. “Is it okay that I don’t hate you like I hate most people?”

Allison smiled and nodded.  _ Fine with me.  _

Lila put a hand on the scratches on Allison’s neck from Pogo. “Good.” She moved her hand and kissed her neck gently. Allison stared at her softly. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Allison leaned in, kissing her on the lips. 

Lila smacked her in the face and she fell back, holding her cheek. Lila got up and moved back on top of her, slowly kissing her again. 

Allison kissed back, intertwining her fingers with Lila’s. Whatever she had going on in her brain, it was certainly interesting to say the least. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've been keeping track, you know what's going to happen next. No, I'm not sorry.


	13. :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus tries to save Dave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm only slightly sorry

**:)**

Klaus sat at the bar, readying to eat a nice eggplant parmesan sandwich when Ruby walked up, dropping a piece of paper in front of him. 

“Don’t say I never did anything for you.” He said.

Klaus dropped his sandwich, grabbing the paper. 

_ Dave Katz, Glen Oaks Hardware _

“You found him?”

“South Dallas. Must be a hell of a friend.”

Klaus ran out, leaving his food behind.

He drove up to the hardware store, Ben sitting in the back. “Klaus, even you know this is a bad idea.”

Klaus shushed him, waving his hand. “I know what I’m doing...I just want him to not die in war. If we  _ are  _ going to leave, I want him to be safe. He’s too good to just die in some bullshit war.”

“You can’t change the past, Klaus.”

“Don’t think of it as changing the past. Think of it as changing his future.”

Ben rolled his eyes as Klaus got out of the car and walked into the store. He lingered around some hammers, discreetly looking around for Dave. 

“Can I help you?”

Klaus turned, seeing Dave. So bright-eyed and hopeful. 

“Dave…”

“That’s what my nametag says.” Dave smiled at him. “You lookin’ for anything in particular?”

Klaus laughed, choking on a sob he was trying to hold back.

Ben leaned against the wall, shaking his head. “Klaus, for once in your life would you just listen-”

“Stop.” 

“Beg pardon?” Dave asked.

“I mean...I’m stop sign.  _ Painting _ .  _ Painting  _ a stop sign.”

“Painting a stop sign.” Ben repeated dryly. 

“Painting a stop sign?” Dave asked. 

“...Yeah. I just...I found it on the side of the road, all discarded and bent up. Thought I’d turn it into a...crafts project.”

“I thought you were trying to save his life.” Ben pointed out.

Dave nodded. “Well, I’m sure I can help with some of that. What are you painting it into? A farm scene? Sun? Flower?”

“Yes! Yes. A flower. You know...add some nice flare to my yard.”

Ben groaned, holding his head in his hands. “You’re a fucking idiot, Klaus.”

Dave turned around, looking at the paint on the shelf. “Well, what kind of flower were you wanting to turn it into?”

“Dave…” Klaus sighed helplessly.

“Hm?” Dave turned to look at him.

Klaus stood up straight, forcing a smile. “A daisy.”

“You do realize this is literally stalking, right? Like, you actually got Jack Ruby to stalk him for you.” Ben said. Klaus hissed at him as Dave set down a can of paint.

“Well, I like pink daisies myself. Mamie pink adds a nice spring touch.”

Klaus smiled, resting his hands on his mouth. “You’re so good at...picking out paint. Look at you. You’re so...nice in your little apron and nametag. So young and not ready to die.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Yeah. I’ll take a can of the pink.” 

“Great. Let me get it mixed up for you.” 

Klaus watched Dave put the can of paint on a mixer. He closed his eyes as the rattling of the can mixed into the sounds of gunfire and helicopter blades.

All he saw was Dave’s body, lying in his arms. Motionless and lifeless. He was sobbing over his body, begging him to stay with him. But he was already gone. Ten months in Vietnam. Nearly a year of his life. Staying for Dave. Staying  _ with  _ Dave. The spark he felt around him. Happiness. All of it. Gone in one moment. All the hours in the mausoleum didn’t compare to the instant heartbreak.

He snapped back into reality as Dave set the paint can down. “All set.”

Klaus silently walked back to his car, setting the paint in the passenger seat.

He rested his head on the steering wheel, crying. Ben watched him, wanting to help, but had no encouraging words to say. He could only sit in silence. Klaus looked at him through the rearview mirror and threw his hand up. “What? Nothing smart to say?”

“You know this is wrong. Everything about it. And what’s it going to accomplish? He’ll either not believe you and join anyway, or he will believe you and not join and he’ll be stuck here in 1963, either dying from the apocalypse, or of old age, waiting for you to come back for him. Is that what you want for him-”

“You don’t get to pull that on me. This isn’t your business!”

“Actually, it is. You’re my brother, who, might I remind you, is forcing me to stay here and not cross over so my soul can rest.”

“Then cross over! I don’t care anymore! We’re all gonna die in a week anyways! When we were on leave, he told me about the day he enlisted. When Kennedy was assassinated, it inspired him to sign up. And maybe if I could just convince him not to sign up for that stupid war, then I could at least save him from dying in vain and we could spend our last few days together before we all get killed again.”

Ben chewed the inside of his lip and sighed. “You’re just gonna scare him before you even get a chance to meet him. What about the Klaus who comes back and meets him? The Klaus who, if not for Dave, would have spent ten months in Vietnam all alone. Or worse. Tried to use the briefcase to get home and ended up stuck somewhere like Five? Only he’d never get to see his family again? Do you care about that Klaus?”

Klaus looked at him and clenched his jaw. “No. I don’t.”

Ben blinked, leaning forward. “Wouldn’t him being in Vietnam at the time of Dallas getting hit with an armageddon potentially save his life?”

“Oh, shut up!”

\------

Patrons sat at the diner, talking happily, as if there wasn’t a peaceful sit-in turned violent that had happened the night before. Klaus watched outside the window as Dave ate with his uncle. Ben shook his head. “I feel like this is...not a bright idea.”

“I know that.”

“So why are you doing it?”

“Because I love him. And I want him to live.” Once Brian walked away from the booth, Klaus quickly walked in and sat in front of Dave. “Hi.”

“Hi. Mamie pink, right?”

“It’s actually Klaus, but you can call me whatever you like.”

“Reel it in, creep-o.” Ben said.

“How’s that stop sign treatin’ you?” Dave asked. 

Klaus cleared his throat and held his hands together. “Dave, I need to talk to you. But you have to believe me.”

“Okay?” Dave smiled, slightly confused.

“I know you.”

“Yeah, from the hardware store.”

“Oh my god, he’s a moron.” Ben said. 

“No, Dave. From 1968. Listen. I know you’re thinking about enlisting, thinking it’s your duty because your grandpa fought in World War I and your dad fought in World War II and that guy you’re eating brunch with, your Uncle Ryan, fought in Korea-”

“Brian.” Dave corrected.

“Brian. And you look up to Brian and you’re starting to believe what he’s saying about the military making you a man. Which is bullshit, by the way.”

Dave scoffed. “Is this a joke?”

“No, gender’s a spectrum and you don’t need to do anything to be a man except identify as one.”

“Klaus you’re losing him.” Ben said. 

“Sorry. Dave, if you enlist, they’re gonna send you out to Vietnam.”

Dave’s smile had long since disappeared. “The heck are you talking about?”

“Fifty thousand soldiers - and a million Vietnamese - all die. For nothing. The dominoes aren’t gonna topple, Dave. The Communists aren’t gonna invade East Asia.”

Dave crossed his arms. “Says you.”

Brian walked back to the booth and Klaus immediately looked away. “Hey, Brian…”

“You know this clown, Dave?” Brian asked.

Dave looked down at his plate. “He bought some pink paint.”

Brian scoffed. “Pink paint? Go figure. Look at him.”

Klaus looked up at him. “Well pink can actually be very masculine in the right lighting. And you know, it  _ used  _ to be a masculine color until World War II when it was used to point out all the gay men-” Brian jerked Klaus out of his seat. 

“Get outta my seat, queer.”

Klaus laughed bitterly. “Oh, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that.” He turned to Dave. “Please, I just need a moment of your time. Just five minutes.”

“You gonna sit and listen to this pansy, Dave?”

“You don’t need to join the military to be a man. You don’t even  _ want  _ to join. You just want to live up to your family’s expectations.”

“Hit the queer, Dave.”

“I’d really recommend you not use that word, Brian. Dave, don’t sacrifice yourself!”

“Hit him!”

“Because I love you, Dave. Please.”

“Hit the fucking queer, Dave!”

Klaus grabbed Brian’s glass and smashed it against his head. Ben’s eyes widened in surprise as Brian fell to the floor. 

“Holy shit.” Ben muttered. 

Klaus winced, realizing what he’d just done. Before he could apologize or make any sense of what had just happened, he was punched in the jaw and fell down, hitting his head on the tile.

Dave stood over his uncle, checking him over. Klaus slowly stood, holding his jaw. Unable to hold back his tears, he ran out and hid behind a dumpster. Ben crouched in front of him. “Are you okay? You were hit pretty hard.”

“I’m fine...not like you care. You’re probably happy that that happened.”

“Klaus, don’t say that. I don’t like seeing my brother like this.”

Klaus stood. “I’m going.”

“Where?”

“To the bar. To get drunk until it’s time for my fight.”

He stumbled off, leaving Ben behind to watch in despair.

\------

Klaus was thrown against the side of the fighting ring, protecting his face from a punch. He stood on his feet, wobbling a bit. He was extremely drunk and couldn’t tell which of the three blurry men he was supposed to be fighting. He took a swing, missing entirely, and ended up being grabbed by the head and the much, much larger man bashed their foreheads together and tossed Klaus to the ground. He stood up, smacking his face and shaking some sobriety into him. He couldn’t let Ruby down. 

Klaus closed his eyes and envisioned the man going for a kick. When he opened his eyes, he caught the man’s leg just as he was about to kick him.

Okay, that was new. 

Something swept over him. Anger. No matter what happened, Dave would die. And this time Dave would die hating him. And either he’d die in an apocalypse, all alone. Or he’d live in 2019 and be treated like garbage by his siblings. There was no win for him. No matter what he did, the universe would never let him be happy.

Klaus jumped on the man, wrapping his legs around his waist and repeatedly punched him in the face. He finished off with a headbutt and jumped off as the man fell back. He held his fists up, ready to fight more, but then another emotion swept over him.

Helplessness. No matter what happened, Dave would die. And this time Dave would die hating him. And either he’d die in an apocalypse, all alone. Or he’d live in 2019 and be treated like garbage by his siblings. There was no win for him. No matter what he did, the universe would never let him be happy. His ears started ringing and he stood there, emotionless. 

Even as he received a blow to the face. And another one. And another one. And another one. He looked up, his lip quivering. “Hit me harder. Make it hurt. And not the good way.”

“What the hell are you doing!?” Ruby asked from the crowd. 

Klaus ignored him and stood, putting his arms down. “I want to feel something. I want to die!”

The man looked very hesitant, but obeyed, sending a punch that most likely would have taken Klaus’ head off had Luther not stepped in and punched the man’s lights out. 

Klaus didn’t see the aftermath because he had fallen to the floor, too drunk and in pain to stand. All he heard was the sound of the crowd getting very pissed and then he blacked out.

\------

“Klaus? Klaus?”

“Dave?” Klaus groaned, opening his eyes.

Five stood by his bed, holding a towel. “No. Sorry.” He held the towel out to him. “Here...to wipe the blood off your face.”

“...Thanks…” Klaus slowly sat up. “Why are you here?”

“You’re my brother, right? I wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“So Luther found you, then?”

He nodded. “He’s downstairs. Said they probably wouldn’t be too happy about him being inside this building.”

“What happened? I remember him intervening.”

“Well, he punched the guy out and then made sure you were alive, and then Jack Ruby said ‘get that asshole out of here’ and then I brought you up.”

“Oh…” 

Five sat down beside him. “You look like shit.”

“I feel like shit.” He wiped his face. “So what all did Luther tell you?”

“Everything. Seven children, a talking monkey butler, one hell of a father.”

Klaus nodded sarcastically. “Yeah.”

“He mentioned the apocalypse.”

“...What did he say?”

“Nothing much. I asked him about it and he avoided the question.” 

Klaus looked at him uneasily. “Yeah?”

“...What caused the apocalypse?”

He sighed, tossing the towel down. “We all did. Luther blames himself, but we all did.”

“All of us?”

“Yeah. We were all responsible. Vanya was the bomb, but we all took turns lighting the fucking fuse.”

Ruby stormed in, slamming the door open. “Why the hell did you throw that fight!?”

“Jackie-”

“Answer me!”

“I had a bad day.”

“A bad day!? I’ve seen you fight drunk off your ass and beat the guy without even breaking a sweat! I owe a lot of people money who could make things very hard for me!”

“Leave him alone!” Five cut in. Ruby turned to him, pointing a threatening finger.

“You shut up and stay out of this!”

“Look, I can make it up to you. I can make the money back.” Klaus said.

“I treated you like a son. And this is the thanks I get.”

“Jackie…”

“No. We’re done.” Ruby stormed out, slamming the door. 

“...Are you okay?” Five asked quietly.

“I...I just need you to go, okay?”

“I don’t mind staying. I wanted to talk a bit more-”

“Five, for once in your life could you just  _ listen  _ to someone else!? Why don’t you do what you always do and just fuck off for 20 years!? Hm!?”

Five backed up and walked out, leaving Klaus alone without even Ben to comfort him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was painful writing this chapter because Klaus deserves so much happiness and I didn't want to hurt him. But alas, I had to.


	14. Catching Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luther and Five bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter could be labeled "unnecessary", but I felt like season 2 was missing some important bonding moments between the cornfield and the fight club.

**Catching Up**

“Well I landed in an alley. I was all confused and didn’t know where I was and I ran into the street and then I got hit by a car. I couldn’t really tell them anything about me because I didn’t know anything except my name, but they didn’t want to call me that, so I chose a normal name. They let me stay with them until my memories came back or if someone found me. But I’ve been staying with them and no one really found me until this really weird looking guy came into the barn and started talking to me about the moon and getting home. I did get to go trick-or-treating even though Dad says I’m too old for that.”

“Dad?”

“They let me call them Mom and Dad. They’re like parents to me.”

“But you’ve only known them a month.”

“Well, after a few weeks of no one claiming to be a part of my family, they decided I could be a part of theirs.” Five shrugged. “So I am.”

“You spent Halloween here?”

“Yeah. I was a wizard.”

“A wizard?”

“You know...pointy hat, robe, magic staff?”

“I know what a wizard is. I just never imagined you as a wizard kind of kid.”

“They didn’t have many costumes left.” Five looked up at him. “So, what else can you tell me about our family?”

“Well what else do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

“...Okay, that’s fair. Well, you, me, and five others were born on October 1st, 1989. About 30 years from now. We all have special abilities. Super strength, talking to the dead, manipulation of soundwaves and turning them into kinetic energy, mental manipulation, telekinetic trajectory manipulation, time-space matter manipulation, and a portal to another dimension in his belly button that’s inhabited by a tentacle monster. He’s dead though...he died after you disappeared. No one knows why or how we were born. All we know is that we were raised to save the world. Our dad was a huge dick. Well, is. He’s alive, but in the future he’s already dead. It’s confusing. Dad said we were training to save the world, but all we ended up doing was get exploited for fame and fortune. Except for Vanya, who Dad had us believe she didn’t have any powers because he couldn’t really teach her how to control them...You disappeared when we were all 13. Got stuck in the apocalypse for 45 years, had to work for this agency called the Commission that has people go across time killing other people. You apparently screwed them over by coming back to warn us about the apocalypse and you also probably did something else to piss them off, but that could be any number of things, really. You make enemies very easily. But I’d guess that the men in white are from the Commission, either getting revenge on you, or because you are now 60 years before you’re supposed to be.”

“So what blew up the moon? You said it was destroyed.”

“It was.” Luther then failed to elaborate.

“...Okay. So if I was gone for 45 years, why am I a kid?”

“Well, that’s a complicated process. What you said was that you projected your consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of yourself that exists across every possible instance of time.”

Five stared blankly.

“In order to jump back in time, your body had to adjust to extreme time travel, so it did it in the best way it knew how. It reverted back to the form it existed in before you time traveled because you never time-traveled before you were 13. So now we need to find the others and get back to 2019 before Doomsday happens. Which is going to be hard to do now that you’re an amnesiac who probably doesn’t even remember how to use his powers.”

“Sorry...I wish I could help.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault...it looks like you were able to use your powers just fine last night.”

“I don’t know how I did it. I was just scared and trying not to die.”

Elliott walked into the living room and sat a pot of coffee down. “Are you sure this will work?”

“I don’t know.” Luther poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Five. “Drink.”

“I told you I don’t like coffee.”

“Caffeine keeps your powers from running out of energy.”

“Can’t I just eat a candy bar or something?”

“Sugar turns you into an asshole, so no. Just take a sip and try to jump.”

“Fine.” Five took a drink and smacked his lips. He looked at the coffee and rapidly drank more. Luther rolled his eyes. 

“Guess he likes coffee again.” He took the cup from Five. “Okay focus. Try to jump from one place to another.”

Five stood and hopped to the side. Luther rubbed his face. “With your  _ powers,  _ Five.”

“Give me a break. I’m 13 and I don’t even know how my powers work.”

“Well what happened before you did it last night?”

“I was running away from those guys shooting at me and the station wagon was driving into a ditch. I got scared and the next thing I knew I was in the middle of the cornfield.”

“Okay, so it looks like your powers only activate as a safety mechanism to keep you safe.”

Luther stood, walking over to a window and opening it. He moved furniture around, setting a bunch of cushions into a pile.

“So what exactly does that mean?”

“This.”

Five was thrown out the window.

Luther stepped to the side as Five jumped back into the room, yelping as his face hit a wall. He fell to the ground, groaning.

Luther looked down at him. “Are you alright?”

“I just remembered something.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I hate you.”

He helped Five up, dusting him off.

“What was the point of that?”

“To show you what I meant. Maybe get you to be able to recognize what it feels like when you use your powers so you’ll know how to try and do it without life-threatening situations.”

“What if that hadn’t worked?”

“But it did. Did you feel what your powers were doing?”

“Not really. Some lunatic threw me out a window, so I was a little more focused on surviving.”

“Hey, it’s better than how Dad taught you. He locked you in an airtight chamber and said if you didn’t jump out within 30 minutes, you’d suffocate.”

“Why does it matter if I can use my powers or not?”

“Because you’re the only one who can get us home and we can’t get your memories back, then the least we can do is make sure that you can use your powers properly because you’re still being hunted.”

“Super comforting. Why can’t you just kill them? You look big enough.”

“Were they all white-haired guys who looked really creepy?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, there’s no way I’d be able to take them. I couldn’t even take on one of those Commission guys.”

Luther sighed and looked around the room. “Elliott, where’s Allison?”

“She went shopping.” Elliott said, shoving a spoonful of cereal in his mouth. 

“Shopping? Seriously?”

“She was tired of wearing men’s clothing.”

Luther groaned. “I miss the moon.”

“You went to the moon?” Five asked.

“Yeah,” Luther said, partially annoyed, “Dad turned me into an ape and then I got sent to the moon.”

“What!?”

“Unbelievable. I tell her to lay low and what does she do? Dyes her hair the most ridiculous color and goes out shopping.”

“...I like her hair.” Elliott mumbled.

Luther looked at his watch. “Ugh, come on, Five.” 

“Where are we going?”

“To get Klaus.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

“What happened to teaching me to use my powers?”

“Would you rather me throw you out the window again or would you rather go find someone else to talk to?”

He walked out and Five quickly followed.

Luther kept Five close as they entered the fight club. The fight was already going on, Klaus was putting up a decent fight. Five crouched, watching through the space between two slats of wood. 

“How is he not already dead? That guy’s enormous!”

“I don’t know. Stay low.” Luther ducked Five’s head down, watching nervously. What the hell did Klaus get himself into this time? Klaus was clocked in the jaw and he hit the side of the fighting ring. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, being forced to watch his brother get his ass beat. Five, however, was watching with great interest. This had been the most interesting two days he’d experienced in the last month. 

It looked as if Klaus was going to win, but then he ended up freezing up, standing still, yelling about how he wanted to die. “Klaus, do something!” Luther yelled, but he was drowned out by the angry crowd. “That guy’s gonna take his head off. Stay here.”

“Yeah, because I’m gonna jump into the ring with  _ two  _ big, angry men who smell like the inside of a barn.” Five scoffed.

Luther jumped over the wall before the final blow could be delivered and punched the large man in the face. The crowd burst into an uproar of boos. 

“Who the hell is this asshole!?” Ruby yelled from the crowd. “Get him out of here!”

“Klaus!” Luther crouched down, looking at Klaus. He was drooling and sobbing. Completely wasted. “Jesus. Come on, Klaus.” He started to pick him up, unaware of the set of men who were approaching him with knives. Five gritted his teeth and disappeared in a flash of blue light. He jumped on one man’s back, gripping him tightly. 

“Don’t touch him!”

“Five!”

The crowd got louder, now throwing stuff at them. 

“Dammit.” Luther dropped Klaus’s arms, going to help Five, who was thrown onto the ground. He helped Five up and they ran out. 

“What about Klaus?”

“We’ll talk to him when he’s conscious.” 

They sat in the car, sighing. 

“Well that went well.” Five said. “Can I go home now?”

“No, Five. You can’t.” He watched some men carrying Klaus into a car and driving off. “We’re going to talk to Klaus.” He followed the black car at a distance, arriving at rooms for solitary men. “Wow...this is sad.” Luther turned to face Five, who was in the backseat. “Okay, wait until those men leave the building and then go talk to him and make sure he’s alright.”

“Why do I have to do it?”

“Because I just pissed off an entire group of mafia men, so they’ll shoot me.”

“So you’re going to send in a child.”

“You’re 58. Just go in. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be out here, okay?”

“This is a bad idea.” Five got out of the car and walked into the building when the men who carried Klaus up had driven off. 

Luther got outside the car, stretching his legs. He leaned against the hood, looking up at the building. There was no way he was going to get all of his siblings in the same place. They’d all end up dead. No matter how hard he tried. He rubbed his face, exhausted. What was he going to do? He barely had any luck keeping Allison out of trouble. Now he was responsible for Five  _ and  _ Klaus. They barely listened to him when they  _ had  _ to. 

Soon, Five came storming out of the building. “Where’s Klaus?”

Five ignored him, getting in the car.

“What are you doing?”

“Going home.”

“What? No, you’re not! You’re coming with me!”

“Why? So we can all team up and destroy the world again?”

Luther sighed, looking at him. Five scoffed, starting the car. Luther knocked on the car window and Five rolled it down. “Get out of the car.”

“Were you even gonna tell me?”

“Honestly? No. I figured your memories would come back and you’d just be back to your grouchy old self in time for us to  _ not destroy the world again!  _ Five, we don’t have time for this argument. We need to get home-”

“I have a home. And it’s not with the people who didn’t bother looking for me. Is there anything else you failed to mention?”

“Yeah, probably. Because it’s not important right now!” He took a breath and leaned against the window. “The apocalypse is coming. And we all need to be a team when it does.”

“I haven’t been a part of the team for 45 years.” 

Luther threw his arms up as Five sped off in the car, leaving him behind. “I wish I blew up with the moon.” He kicked some dirt and walked back to Elliott’s to hopefully come up with a real plan for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I gotta go back and piece out what's happened with the others because I'm not sure what order things happened. I don't feel comfortable writing the sit-in scene, so that will be completely omitted, but the rest of Diego's story will involve it having happened. I'm pretty sure the next chapter will involve Diego and Vanya.


	15. Sibling Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanya comforts Diego after the riot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter's a bit short, but I really wanted to do another chapter with Diego and Vanya because I'm still pissed about how he treated Vanya in season 1

**Sibling Bonding**

Vanya helped Diego into the house, setting him on the couch as he coughed. “I’ll get you some water.” Vanya ran into the kitchen, pouring Diego a glass of water. He handed him the water and Diego drank greedily.

He wiped his mouth and sniffled. Vanya sat beside him, putting a hand on his back. Diego looked at him, sighing. “How’d you find me?”

“Well, I heard there was a riot that broke out and figured you’d be there to try and keep the peace.”

He scoffed. “Yeah...look at how well that turned out…”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up. You did what you could.”

“Ray could be hurt. I need to go out and find him.”

“You were smoke bombed. You need to rest. He’ll probably come back. Just stay here for the night, okay? We need to stick together for now.”

“He saw me use my powers, Vanya.”

“He did?”

“I can’t explain to him what happened.”

“What _did_ happen?”

“The cop grabbed him and...he was gonna beat him to death. So I did what I did best. I beat the cop’s ass. Then there was a gunshot and...I curved the bullet and turned it into the guy’s head. Vanya, he saw it. How am I gonna explain that to him? That I just somehow managed to shoot a cop without a gun?”

Vanya stared sadly, unable to comfort his brother. This wasn’t his area of expertise. 

Diego sighed. “Why’d you even come for me?”

“Because you’re my brother and I care about you.” Vany pulled him into a hug. Diego reluctantly slumped into the hug. “I never thought I’d be here.”

“In Dallas?” Diego asked, still resting his face on Vanya’s shoulder.

“Comforting you...having a real conversation with you. Without you being angry at me.”

He smiled a little and sat up, looking at Vanya. “Well, this family’s full of surprises. Like you.”

“A good surprise?”

“Yeah. Pretty good.”

\------

Diego paced the kitchen, holding the phone between his ear and his shoulder, flipping through a phonebook. “Parkland Hospital?...Did anyone by the name of Raymond Chestnut get admitted last night? He...he was involved in the riot at Stadtler’s?” Diego scoffed. “What does _that_ have to do with anything?...Right. Of course you don’t help black people.” He hung up and leaned against the wall.

Vanya yawned, waking up from the couch. “You ok?”

“No, I’m not ok. Ray never came home and I have no idea where he could be.”

“I’m sure he’s fine…” Vanya sat up, stretching. “He’s probably hiding somewhere safe until the drama dies down.”

“He saw me use my powers on that cop, Vanya.”

“Well yeah, but it was to save _his_ life.”

Diego sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table, holding his head in his hands. Vanya sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey...it’ll be okay...you remember when we were all 17 and you guys had to go on that mission out of the country? You guys were gone for a week because Klaus traded the communications radio for booze and we had no way of finding out if you guys were okay. We couldn’t get a hold of you and it wasn’t until you guys showed up on the doorstep that we knew you were all alive.”

“What’s this have to do with anything, Vanya?”

“I spent the whole week waiting up every night because I wanted to be awake when you guys came back or sent Dad a message or something. Ben had just died and I didn’t know how I would have been able to take it if anyone else died. It was the worst week of my life. I was afraid. I didn’t know what to do. Dad didn’t care, but I kept making him check the radio. That’s what you’re feeling, right? Scared and unsure?”

“...Yeah.”

“But then everyone came home fine. Pissed and exhausted, but alive. That’s just what this is like. If Ray’s anything like you, he’s too stubborn to let himself get killed. Maybe you just need to give him some time to himself to...process what he saw.”

Diego nodded, sighing. “I guess. But what if he _is_ hurt?”

“...Why don’t I make Mom’s special chicken soup she made for us when we were younger whenever we were having a bad day? I memorized the recipe she followed. It might boost our spirits.” Vanya stood, looking through the cabinets.

“Vanya, food isn’t going to help.”

“You never know.”

“...How’s your imaginary friend?”

“I don’t see him whenever I’m around you. I think he goes away because I know you don’t hate me now.”

“I never hated you. I was actually jealous.”

“Jealous? Of me?

“Yeah. Hell, we all were. You never had to do any of that superhero shit. You could be whoever you wanted to be. You always got to help Dad with stuff. I always thought Dad liked you best because you got to hold the clipboard while we all fought for his approval. While we were risking our lives, you got to sit home and play music…Then you wrote that book and...it just felt like _you_ hated _us_. We were just living our lives how Dad told us to, and then you told the whole world that we were the problem.”

Vanya sat back down next to him. “I’m...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have written the book...I was just...tired of being ignored.”

“I know...we didn’t make things any better. Especially Allison’s wedding-”

“Oh, don’t remind me. That was a major shit show.” Vanya laughed. “She was so pissed when the paparazzi got cake on her dress. Her face turned an entire new shade of red.”

Diego laughed, nodding. “Yeah. That was the last time we had a family gettogether that no one died at.”

“I’m just happy I got an invite. Maybe if we ever get home, you could invite us to yours.”

“Of course. But only because I don’t have any friends to invite.”

Vanya’s smile faded a little. “Do you think, if we _do_ get home, that we’ll be able to be a family again? What if everyone hates me? What if Allison never forgives me? We don’t even know if there _is_ a home to go back to…”

“Hey, we’re gonna get home. One way or another. And if it takes us another 20 years before we even see Five again, then we’ll at least get to spend it together.”

Vanya hugged him tightly. “I’d like that…”

Diego hugged him back and smiled a little. “Thanks for being here for me.”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? I know we never got along, but we’re still family. Besides, I don’t really want to go back to my place. My cult found me and they can be so clingy and I’m kind of trying to run away from them. I have no idea how they found me.”

“...Didn’t you just say they were at your _house?”_

“...Yeah.”

“Yeah, a real mystery, V.”

“My point is, I’d rather be here with you.”

“Well...about that.” Diego stood. “I need to go find Ray. You can stay here if you want, but I need to make sure he’s okay.”

Vanya sighed. “Yeah...I know. Our family reunions never last that long.”

“Just try not to blow up the moon while I’m gone, okay?”

“You guys are never going to let that go, are you?”

He laughed, patting Vanya’s shoulder. “Maybe in another 30 years.”

Diego walked out of the room and put a coat on, grabbing his shoes.

Vanya quickly stood. “Let me come help.”

“What?” Diego looked up from tying his shoes.

“We can look for him together.”

“Vanya, he doesn’t exactly jump for joy at the fact that my brother is a white cult leader. Seeing you won’t be helpful. Look, just...stay out of trouble, okay? Try to deal with your cult or something. I just need to go find him on my own and see if I can try to explain what happened without revealing I have powers.”

“...Good luck with that, I guess.”

Vanya groaned as Diego ran out. Not-Diego sat down beside him. “Finally. I thought he’d never leave.”

“No matter what I do, they’ll always see me as a monster.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying for the last three years.”

Vanya wiped his eyes and walked out, blowing every bulb in the house as he slammed the door shut.

\------

Klaus gently knocked on the door, holding a small duffel bag and a pair of pink sunglasses. Elliott opened the door and dropped his jaw. “Whoa...it’s you. You’re from the...the alley!”

“Is Luther here?” Klaus asked, despite already squeezing past him into the apartment.

Elliott let him, staring at him in awe. “He went out.”

Klaus looked around the room, seeing the conspiracy boards on every wall. It was a mess. He could get used to this.

“Out? Where?”

“With your sister.”

“Allison? Like on a date? I knew they still had feelings for each other.”

“No. Not on a date. What? They had some…consulate to go to.”

“I don’t know what that is. When will they be back?”

“He didn’t say.”

Klaus dropped his bag and put his sunglasses on, groaning.

Ben shook his head, crossing his arms.

Klaus laid down on the couch and groaned loudly into a pillow.

“...Bad day?” Elliott asked.

“What gave it away?”

Elliott pointed over to a large tank. “Want to do some nitrous?”

Klaus immediately sat up, looking over. “What’s your name?”

“Elliott.”

“Elliott, you just became my new best friend.”

Ben rolled his eyes, watching Klaus and Elliott share a tank of nitrous. Klaus and Elliott, on the other hand, were having the time of their lives.

He patted Elliott’s hand. “Oh man. I can’t remember a time I felt this good. I’ve been clean for a year now. And this is the only time in the last year I’ve been happy!”

He handed Elliott the mask and looked over at the tank.

“How’d you even get this stuff?”

“My father was a dentist. He left me this place when he died.”

“Oh. My dad died, too.” Klaus laughed. “ _My_ dad left _me_ in a mausoleum!”

They both laughed, leaning on each other.

Elliott sighed happily. “Hey, at least you’re doing somewhere. _I_ don’t leave the house except between 9:00 and 10:00 am Monday through Friday and when it’s daylight on Wednesday.”

Klaus cackled, tilting his head. “Why?”

“I have my reasons.”

“Oh you’re so weird!”

Elliott laughed, nodding. “Yeah, but _you’re_ an alien from the future and you’re wearing a skirt and eyeliner!”

Klaus stopped, processing that. He sighed. “Yeah...yeah. I am. That I am.” He leaned back. “You know, in the last 12 hours, I lost a fight, my job, and the man that I love is going to war to die a pointless death.” He broke into laughter again. “I mean, what is that?”

“My wife left _me_ for my best friend on our _tenth_ anniversary!” Elliott laughed, patting his arm.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about her, okay?” Klaus consoled. “She’ll be dead in seven days.” His face got serious as he stared Elliott down. “We all will.”

Elliott froze in fear. Klaus snorted, laughing again. Elliott joined in.

Ben sat at the table, reading the newspaper clippings. Klaus couldn’t see him, but Ben was still hanging around to judge him. But mostly to worry about him. It had been years since Klaus fell off the wagon. And now he was getting high with a man he knew all of 30 seconds. This was less than surprising for either party.

Even less surprising was how quickly Klaus had managed to make a new friend. He laid his head back, taking in the temporary peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I'm gonna do the Consulate yet, but I will be doing the dinner, which is something I've been eager to do because it does contain a huge change to the story in my version.


	16. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luther meets The Handler, everyone is caught up to speed on the situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this chapter, I'd go back and re-read the previous chapter if you've been following the story because I added something to the end of it.

**Intermission**

Luther stood in front of his siblings, who all gathered on Elliott’s couches. Five, Diego, and Allison looked up at him. Klaus rolled his eyes, taking a drink. It was a miracle they were all even in the same room without trying to kill each other.

Luther sighed. “Okay, I just want to preface this by saying that I may have been partially to blame for getting all of you guys stuck here.”

“Oh, partially?” Klaus asked sarcastically.

“I’m sorry, okay? Hindsight is 20/20. I screwed up big time. But there’s a bigger problem to be worried about. The end of the world is coming. Again.”

“Again?” Vanya asked. Everyone else nodded quietly. “Wait, you all knew and didn’t tell me?”

“We didn’t really have the time to tell you.” Luther said.

“Is it me again?”

“I don’t know. But I doubt it. If it were, you probably would have killed everyone before the nukes did.”

Vanya sat down, groaning.

“We have until Monday to stop it.”

“Are you sure it’s not Vanya?” Klaus asked.

Allison smacked his arm.

“What?”

Diego looked at Luther. “Are there any leads?”

Luther sighed as Allison handed him the file. “We have one. Unfortunately.”

He handed the file to Diego, who opened it, seeing the picture of Reginald on the grassy knoll.

“What the hell? Dad?”

“Yeah…”

Five leaned over, looking at the picture. “That’s him?”

Luther nodded. “Yeah. Allison and I have been trying to talk to him to find out what it means. But we’ve got nothing.”

 _He’s probably behind the Kennedy assassination._ Allison signed bitterly.

Luther put her hands down, annoyed. “We don’t know what exactly causes doomsday. It might not have anything to do with Kennedy at all. All we do know is that it’s probably something to do with the timeline changing.”

“How do we know if it’s broken?” Diego asked.

_It has to be something to do with Dad. He was meeting with shady people. We know he’s going to be there right when JFK is killed._

“So we have to kill Dad.” Diego shrugged casually.

“Diego, if we kill Dad, none of our lives happen they way they did. We’d all be erased from the timeline and put in new roles that would erase our memories of all that’s happened up until now.” Luther said.

“He turned you into a spider monkey, and sent you to the moon so I think it’s a fair trade.”

Luther rolled his eyes.

“Well, none of us are supposed to be here, right?” Five spoke up. “What if it’s us? What if we broke the timeline? Has anyone done anything to screw it up?”

They all looked at each other, staring awkwardly.

Vanya stared into his cup.

Diego poured some whiskey into a large glass and took a drink.

“Well Allison was locked up for being a lunatic.” Klaus finally spoke up.

_You’re working for Jack Ruby!_

“Diego’s been involved in politics.” Vanya mumbled.

“ _You_ started a cult.” Diego argued.

Five looked between everyone, putting his hands up defensively. “I just got hit by a car. I have nothing to do with that.”

“Maybe you do and you just don’t know it yet.” Diego snapped.

Luther closed his eyes as everyone started arguing among each other. He remembered the war he walked in on. The planes in the sky, the tanks shooting at them.

“Guys, you all die!” He yelled finally. They went silent, looking at him. “I saw it. It’s just another traumatizing thing that I’ll never be able to forget. Russian nukes vaporize everything. Including you. In a World War that never happened until we got here. Hazel gave his life just to give us a chance to save ours. So, if it’s not too much to ask, you could all just shut up and listen to me. I don’t know if all those things we’ve experienced are connected, quite frankly, I don’t care. If there’s a reason for it, I don’t know. But Dad might. So as much as I hate to admit it, we need to ask Dad for help. Before everything is gone.”

Klaus laughed, standing up. “Okay, I’m out.” He started walking out.

“Did you not just hear me?”

“Yeah. I heard a man, who has been lied to and manipulated his entire life, saying he’s going to ask the very man who lied to and manipulated him for help and fix everything. Luther, you of all people should know that he’s full of shit! I’m not going to ask him for help.” Klaus stormed down the steps, ignoring Allison who was going after him.

Luther walked after him, tossing him back, landing him on the couch. “No one is going anywhere until we figure this out!”

“Luther, do us all a favor and piss off.” Klaus got back up and jumped over the stair railing, landing gracefully on his feet. He stormed out and Luther muttered, going after him.

He stopped once he got outside, seeing that Klaus had already disappeared. “Klaus! Where he hell did he go?”

Allison walked up to him. _You stay with the others, I’ll go look for him._ Without giving him a chance to argue, she walked off.

A noise from above got his attention.

Lila stared down at him, smirking from a rooftop.

“Lila?”

She ran off, jogging casually.

Well this was obviously a trap.

He ran after her.

Vanya stood. “I’m going to get some tacos.”

“Shouldn’t we wait?” Diego asked.

“You want to wait for Luther? Wow, married life has changed you.”

“Hey, hey, hey. There’s no need to be hostile.”

Vanya looked at Five. “You wanna come?”

“Is there any way tacos will cause the end of the world?”

“Probably, but there’s only one way to find out.”

Five smiled a little and went with them.

Allison ran up to Klaus and grabbed his arm.

“Leave me alone, Allison.”

_So you’re just going to get mad at Luther and leave? Is that it?_

“Look, every time we try to stop doomsday, that’s what causes it to happen. So maybe we just...don’t do anything.”

_So we just do nothing? You’re just going to quit like you always do?_

Klaus stopped, scowling. “There’s nothing to quit if we haven’t even started yet. You guys don’t even need me. I’ve never been a useful member of the team!”

Allison rolled her eyes as Klaus continued walking without her.

_So this is about the team now?_

She caught up to him as he stopped at a sidewalk. He looked at her as she repeated what she had signed, since he had looked away.

“No, it’s not about the team. Tell me, if you’re so concerned about the safety of the world, why don’t you just use your power and speak? Rumor the apocalypse away? All our problems could be solved if you just spoke up. But you’re too scared to speak. Because you remember what happened when you _tried._ You know that something bad will happen if you do.”

Allison tried to think of a response, resting her hand on the scar on her throat. Klaus nodded. “Yeah. You’re doing nothing because you know what happens when you did something.”

She stood up straight, looking up at him. _Well whatever we’re doing is working because_ _there’s a long black car that’s been following us since we left Elliott’s._

“What?” Klaus turned around as a black car pulled up, stopping in front of them.

The driver stepped out, silently handing Allison an envelope. He got back in the car and drove off. He leaned in, reading the letter that Allison had pulled out.

“To my pursuers: I, Reginald Hargreeves, request the pleasure of your company for a light supper on the 20th of November, 1963, at half past seven o’clock, 1624 Magnolia Street.”

They looked at each other, confused.

\------

Luther watched as Lila smashed the window on a door and opened it from the inside.

Okay, it was an abandoned warehouse with no other buildings around and Lila clearly broke into that warehouse in the middle of day. This was screaming a trap.

Luther ran inside, catching up to her.

She stopped, laughing. “Hello.”

“What’s your game?”

“Does it matter? Hit me with your best shot, big guy.”

“I don’t believe in hitting women. Unless they hit me first.”

“How chivalrous.” She punched him in the throat and ran off again.

Luther wheezed, coughing. He ran after her, getting slightly more pissed. He caught up to her again, grabbing her by the back of her shirt and tossing her to the ground.

She kip-upped, getting back on her feet.

He narrowed his eyes and took a swing, but she caught it and kicked him in the chest, sending him back.

“Okay, what the hell?”

He stood up just as she tried to send her foot into his face. He grabbed her, quickly putting her into a stranglehold.

She grunted. “You’re better than I thought.”

“I’d say the same, but I don’t think of you at all.” He looked around. “You can come out now.”

The Handler walked out, proudly smiling. “Well done. I’m surprised you caught on so easily. I figured you the dumb one of the bunch.”

“Wasn’t hard to figure out. I’ve seen her fighting before. Fights just the same as the other Commission agents.”

She nodded. “Well, no matter. We’re here now. I am curious. Do you know who I am?”

Luther shrugged. “Cruella De Vil’s heterosexual sister?”

“Cheeky little shit. Must run in the family.”

Lila laughed, still in the hold. Luther squeezed tighter, making Lila cough.

“I will say, planting her in a psych ward to get her to take advantage of Allison, relatively smart idea for your people.”

“Hm, yes. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Luther tilted his head. “She’s your daughter?...Well you are in great shape for someone who had a child at such a young age.”

The Handler rolled her eyes. “Yes, well she’s my only one, so I’d appreciate if you didn’t crush every bone in her body.”

Luther reluctantly let Lila go and pushed her to the side.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you someday.” Lila threatened.

“I’ll eagerly count the days.” Luther rolled his eyes.

“Lila, dear, give us a minute alone.”

Lila scowled and walked off.

“What do you want?” Luther asked, clearly annoyed.

“Do you like jazz, Luther?”

“...I’m more of a 70’s pop guy. You know. ABBA?”

“Hm. Jazz is like a beautiful woman.” She circled around him like a shark circling a surfer. “Complex, emotional, hard to please.”

“We have very different ideas on what jazz is like.”

“She doesn’t just give it to you...she makes you work for it.”

“Work for what?”

“Under my leadership, the Commission would sound more like jazz.” She smiled, dancing slightly.

Luther scrunched up his face, confused.

“Well, now there’s a board of directors. They’re in charge of the Commission. In exchange for the assassination of the board, I’m willing to get you and your family out of this timeline and back to 2019 where you belong.”

She smirked a little as that seemed to capture his attention. He turned to face her. “What about the nuclear holocaust?”

“Once your family is gone, that goes away.”

“The 2019 apocalypse?”

“Gone.”

“I thought that was supposed to happen.”

“With me in charge…we can riff.” She danced again, this time leaning against him.

“Are you like this with Five? Do I need to call Chris Hansen?”

“And even as a show of good faith, when I’m in charge, let’s say I can spare some Commission expenses to get you back into your old body.”

Luther’s heart skipped a beat. “You can do that?”

She nodded, leaning on a column. “That got your attention, didn’t it? No one knows who the Board is. But once every fiscal quarter, they get together for a meeting.”

“Where?”

“The question is ‘when.’ They meet somewhere in the same timeline, but never the same place twice. The exact location and date of these meetings is the most closely-guarded secret in the Commission.”

“I’m guessing you know.”

“Would I be here if I didn’t?”

“Why come to me?”

“I’d normally go to Five for this, but he’s a little out of commission right now. Right now you’re the only one I can get enough leverage on to actually bargain a deal with.”

Luther crossed his arms, sighing. “...I need some time to think about it.”

He started off.

“Fine, but remember. Doomsday is right around the corner. And right now, I’m your only option.”

“...Not yet you aren’t.”

\------

Klaus looked at the invite. “Allison, this is clearly a setup.”

_Maybe, but we need to go anyway._

“Didn’t he stab Luther?”

_Yeah, but Luther forgives him._

Klaus rolled his eyes. He looked at Five.

“Would you tell her that she’s crazy?”

“...I think we should go.”

Klaus dropped his jaw. “Five, you of all people should hate him the most.”

“He can’t be that bad, can he?”

“He’s the reason you got stuck in the future and lost your whole childhood. He wouldn’t let you experiment with your powers and made you feel like shit and you decided to go against him anyway just to prove him wrong.”

“I mean, didn’t me getting stuck in the future save our lives?”

Allison smirked a little.

Klaus huffed. “Yeah. But he also isolated us from Vanya, always pitted us against each other for his approval, locked me in a mausoleum, sent Luther to the moon because he failed _one time_ , and gave us all PTSD.”

“Well now I _have_ to meet him.”

Allison laughed, tucking her shirt in.

“I know how it’s going to end. He’s going to play his little mind games and turns us all against each other.

_Klaus, we’re not kids anymore. We’re all adults. It’s going to be different this time. You know why?_

“Why?”

“We’ll have each other.”

He stood and pulled Allison aside. “Al...I know this is weird, but...I think you should stay here with Elliott.”

_What?_

“I don’t know. I just...I have this feeling that you need to stay.”

_Klaus, I’m not going to stay here just because you tell me to._

“Please, Allison. I need you to stay. I’m begging. If you don’t stay, it won’t sit right with me.”

She blinked, but then let out a resigned sigh. _Fine. I’ll keep an eye on Elliott then._

“Thank you.” He hugged her tightly.

He himself wasn’t sure why he desperately needed her to stay, but he knew that he was right. He’d find out how right he was soon enough.


	17. A Light Supper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The siblings meet with Reginald for dinner

**A Light Supper**

The sun set over the Sheraton Dallas Hotel, now known as the Southland Life Building. Luther walked up the stairs all alone. None of his other siblings had bothered to show up. He waited for the elevator, looking at the invitation in his hand. Meeting up with Reginald was the last thing he wanted to do, let alone, doing it by himself.

He stepped in the elevator. Just as the doors were about to close, Diego grabbed the door, stepping inside. He stepped in beside Luther and held it open for Vanya, who was quietly followed by Five. Luther watched them pile in as Klaus finished the headcount and stood in the middle of everyone.

He smiled a little as the doors closed. “Almost everyone’s here.”

“Allison decided to stay behind.” Klaus said, coughing up some smoke.

“Are you okay?” Vanya

Klaus exhaled slowly, releasing more smoke.

“Are you seriously hotboxing right now?” Diego snapped, immediately covering his face.

“...No.” He said nervously.

The others grumbled, coughing and covering their noses.

“Sorry, Dad scares me.” He mumbled.

The elevator doors opened and they all meandered out of the elevator that had been filling with smoke for 23 floors.

Klaus breathed in deeply and was the last to step off.

Luther coughed, straightening his jacket. “Okay, I’ll do the talking.”

“Why you?” Diego asked.

“Because _you’ll_ just piss him off.”

“Didn’t he stab you? Won’t he be more pissed at the guy who broke into his house than me?”

Luther rolled his eyes. “He might be able to help stopping doomsday.”

“He also might be planning to kill the president.”

“Here we go again. Diego, who cares? He’s supposed to die, anyway!”

“Okay, let’s just take turns talking, okay?” Five suggested. He picked up a conch from a table. “Whoever has the shell gets to speak.”

“Five, this isn’t a debate, okay?” He took the shell from Five. “I’m the leader, so I’ll do the talking. I’m the one who knows Dad the most, so I’ll know what to say to him.”

“Okay, Daddy’s Boy.” Diego scoffed. “You clearly didn’t know as much about him as you thought.”

Luther scoffed back. “You were always jealous that Dad liked me better than you, Number Two.”

Diego slammed his fist on the table. “You were always such a vindictive asshole, you know that?”

“Uh, Diego.” Klaus smirked. “You weren’t holding the conch.”

Diego snatched the shell from Luther and threw it against the wall.

They all rolled their eyes at him.

The air went cold as Reginald stormed into the dining room, holding his notes tightly under his arm. They watched, unable to form any words. He sat at the table and looked at them expectantly. “Well? What are you waiting for? Sit.”

Those who weren’t sitting quickly rushed to a seat, biting their tongues. Reginald straightened his sleeves, glaring at the lot of them.

“Not only have you burglarized my lap, set my chimp loose-”

Klaus gasped. “Pogo’s here? Did you bring him with you?”

Reginald furrowed his eyebrows at Klaus and looked back at the others. “Set my chimp loose, conned your way into the Mexican consulate, repeatedly stalked an attacked me...but you have, on numerous occasions, called me ‘Dad’.”

Vanya raised his hand slightly. “I just want it on record that I had nothing to do with any of that.”

Reginald cleared his throat, irritated at the constant interruptions.

“My reconnaissance tells me you’re not CIA, not KGB, _certainly_ not MI5, so...who are you?”

None of them wanted to speak. His cold stare made them too afraid to speak.

Finally, Luther spoke.

“We’re your children.” Reginald turned his attention to him. “We’re from the future. In 1989 you adopt us and train us to save the world...you called us the Umbrella Academy.”

“Why on earth would I adopt five-”

“Seven.” Diego corrected.

“I’m only counting five.”

“Allison stayed behind. And Ben isn’t here...he died.”

“But I’m here!” Ben yelled. “Klaus, tell them I’m here!”

Klaus angrily shushed him. They looked at him and he nonchalantly took a sip of his drink.

Reginald raised an eyebrow. “...Regardless. What would possess me to adopt seven ill-mannered malcontents?”

“We have special abilities.” Luther mumbled.

“Special? In what sense?”

“In the superpower sense.” Klaus scoffed.

“Call me old-fashioned, but I’m a stickler for a pesky little thing called evidence. Show me.”

Klaus shook his head. “We’re not gonna do magic tricks for your amusement-”

Diego threw his knife, swirling it around Reginald’s head and hitting the pole behind him. Reginald, unfazed, opened his journal, writing. They all leaned in, trying to see what was being written down.

“What are you writing?” Diego asked.

Reginald looked at him, unimpressed. “I thought these were supposed to _super_ powers.”

Diego gritted his teeth, immediately jumping from his chair.

Luther leaned over, immediately pulling him back into the seat by the back of his pants.

“Fucking gibbon.” Diego muttered.

Luther rolled his eyes. “Okay, quick rundown. Super strength, Diego, projectile path manipulation, Allison, who isn’t here, rumors people to do anything she wants, Klaus communes with the dead, Five has temporal and spacial manipulation, Vanya manipulates soundwaves into kinetic energy.”

Reginald looked over at Vanya. “Care to give a demonstration?”

They all immediately started shaking their heads.

“Let’s _not_ have Vanya show off his powers.” Klaus said, patting his hand.

“They’re still scared of you.” Not-Leonard said, sitting at the bar.

“I think I can give a little demonstration.” Vanya argued, sitting up straight.

“Oh do you? Because your last demonstration blew up the moon.” Diego argued back.

Vanya took a fork, gently tapping it on the side of a cup. Everyone argued over each other, trying to stop him, but they were all stopped as the fruit basket in the middle of the table exploded, sending bits of citrus into their faces.

Klaus wiped bits off his shirt, muttering.

Five pulled some out of his hair, looking over at Vanya. “That was so cool.”

Vanya smiled a little. “Oops.”

“...That was impressive…” Luther mumbled, trying to dab pineapple juice from his eyes.

Diego stood angrily, staring Reginald down. “Look, we know you’re involved in a plot to assassinate the president.”

Luther groaned.

Reginald, who had yet to be fazed by anything Diego said, simply crossed his hands over each other.

“You were recently involved in a riot, is that correct?”

Diego laughed, gritting his teeth.

“Perhaps you’re experiencing delusions in an effort to save face from the failure to get the president’s attention. You couldn’t get the cops on your side, so you become paranoid for any kind of sign that you’ll be able to make yourself look good.”

“Am I?” Diego slammed the photograph on the table, pointing at it. “Explain this. That’s you. That’s two days from now on the grassy knoll at the exact spot the president’s gonna get killed.”

Reginald looked at the picture and back at Diego, his demeanor turning from unimpressed to angered.

“Well...I suppose you’ve solved it. Single-handedly unearthed my nefarious plot. Is that what you want to hear? You fancy yourself a do-gooder? The last good man who will save us from our descent into corruption and conspiracy? This is a fantastic delusion. The sad reality is that you're a desperate man, tragically unaware of his own insignificance, desperately clinging to his own ineffectual reasoning. More succinctly, a man in over his head.”

Diego’s lip quivered and none of his siblings could find the words to defend him. Even after all these years, they were all still terrified of their father. Diego had been the only one able to tell him off in their 30 years alive.

“You’re...wr...wrong.” Diego finally spoke, sitting down as he tried not to cry.

“Look, forget the president.” Luther said. “We have a catastrophic war coming in five days. We need to figure out how to stop it.”

Reginald scoffed. “War? Men will always be at war with each other.”

“No, this isn’t just some war. This is a ‘the-world-is-ending’ type of war. An apocalypse.”

“If someone says ‘apocalypse’ one more time, _I’m_ going to blow my own brains out.” Klaus muttered.

“Well...you’re the special ones, aren’t you? Why don’t you band together and _do_ something about it? For the record, I expected ‘super heroes’ to smell a lot different than a pack of skunks.”

Diego glared at him, breathing heavily.

“Alright, screw it.” Ben said, jumping into Klaus.

Klaus gagged, throwing his arms up. They all looked at him, surprised.

“Is he having a seizure?” Vanya asked.

“Overdosing probably.” Diego muttered.

They looked among each other, trying to figure out what to do.

Ben, taking over Klaus’ body, turned to Reginald, trying to speak.

“Out with it, boy!” Reginald snapped.

“I...I’m...Ben!”

Klaus gasped and fell to the ground, shuttering.

Reginald, having seen enough, gathered his notes and stood.

“Thank you for coming.” He looked at the others, stepping over Klaus. “I think I’ve seen enough.”

“That’s it?” Five asked incredulously. “You were supposed to help us!” He angrily jumped in front of Reginald, scowling.

Reginald looked down at him and back at Luther. “You. Paddington Bear. A word, in private?”

Luther looked down at his blue coat and got up, following him.

The others sat in the elevator on the way down.

Diego sighed. “Well that went about as well as any family function.”

Klaus rubbed his neck, groaning on the floor. “I feel so violated...I need an herbal bath.” He glared up at Ben. “You had no right to possess me!”

“Possession is a strong word. I like to say I ‘borrowed’ you.” Ben smirked. “Temporarily.”

Five looked up at Diego. “Are you okay?”

“So much for having my back in there.” He stormed out as soon as the elevator doors opened.

Everyone else cleared out and Vanya picked Klaus up off the floor, helping him out.

Diego stormed to his car, stopping when he saw Grace in the back of Reginald’s car.

“...Mom?” He ran over, knocking on the window.

She looked at him, slightly scared of the scruffy man that walked up to her window. But, against her better judgment, she rolled the window down. “Can I help you?”

“I just want to show you something…” He held up the photograph.

She took the photograph, looking at it. “What is this?”

“Your boyfriend isn’t the nice guy you think he is. Him and his little squad of triggermen are planning to kill Kennedy the day after tomorrow.”

She shook her head, confused. “What? I don’t understand.”

“He’s going to kill the president.”

“That’s ridiculous. He’d never hurt anyone.”

Diego laughed. “What do you think he’s doing here in Dallas? We have to stop him.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re mistaken.”

“Don’t take my word for it. Ask him yourself.”

Five walked up to Sissy as she pulled up in her car.

“How’d you find me?” He asked quietly.

“This came for you at the farm.” She held up the invitation that had been mailed to the farm.

He looked at her, distressed. He wasn’t sure how he would explain to her what was going on.

“Can we go somewhere? Private?” Sissy asked.

Reginald sat with Luther at the bar.

“You seem like the sensible one of the bunch.” Reginald started.

Luther laughed a little.

He was not.

“Well, I guess being stranded on the moon for four years after having a painful experiment done on you with no communication to the outside world, even from the one who sent me there in the first place, will make you see things from a different perspective.”

“No communication?”

“Nope. Just me and my thoughts. Mostly wondering why you never bothered to write back. Turns out it was just because you didn’t care. Everything I ever wrote to you was stored underneath the floorboard in your office. The seals weren’t even broken. Was a real nice wake-up call.”

“Hm, if I may be a little bit biased. Perhaps the reason they were stored instead of opened was in part due to sentimental value? In that I didn’t want to lose any reminders that you were still alive?”

Luther shook his head. “Considering half my letters were about needing more food, I don’t think sentiment was the issue. Pretty sure it’s because you’re a dickhead.”

“Fair enough.” Reginald took a sip of his drink. “Cognac?” He offered as the bartender set a bottle down.

“...Sure.” He shrugged as Reginald poured a cup.

“The other night, you quoted Homer at me. Why?”

Luther took the cup and quickly downed it. “You forced us to learn it as kids. In Greek.”

“Hm.”

He reached over, grabbing the bottle of Cognac.

“The world ends in five days if I don’t get us all out of this timeline.”

“Worlds end. Paleozoic, Jurassic, and so on.”

“I can _do something_ about this one.”

“Man’s greatest flaw. The illusion of control.”

“Please. I’m the leader. I need to get us home and I need your help. You’re my last sane option. Otherwise, I gotta do something that I really don’t want to do. If I make another bad decision, it could get the rest of my family killed like I did with Ben and like I almost did with the rest of them last time.”

“What happened last time?”

“I fucked up.”

“How?”

“Well, for starters, I pissed Vanya off by locking him in a soundproof dungeon that prevented him from using his powers and then he blew up the moon. And because of that, Five had to time travel back to before it happened so we could stop it from happening, but now we’re all stuck in the 60’s with no way home...not to mention what happened with Ben.” He sighed, staring at nothing.

“Maybe you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. Luther, was it?”

Luther grimaced. “Yeah, but you just call me Number One.”

“...Luther, may I offer you some advice?”

“It’d be the first time in 30 years that you did.”

“You said you were the leader, correct? A leader doesn’t just command people. A leader works with his team. If you just commanded people then you’d be a commander. Leaders encourage their team to work together. They don’t just make decisions and expect everyone else to sit back and do nothing.”

“...As touching as that advice is, that doesn’t really help my situation. Teamwork isn’t exactly going to stop the apocalypse. In fact, I saw it with my own eyes, it actually _causes_ the apocalypse.”

“So much can happen when you listen to each other and work together. The Titanic would not have sank if they had listened to the warnings of the iceberg sooner. Empires topple because people rise up and work together.”

Luther sighed. “I was really hoping you’d have something a little more useful.”

“Sorry I can’t be of more help.”

“You should be apologizing for a lot more than that…” He took another drink. “Growing up, I always idolized you. Everyone else saw you for who you were, but I was just dumb. You’re just some guy. No offense.”

Reginald smiled a little. “None taken. I’m sure I deserve it.”

\------

Elliott walked into his apartment, holding a bag full of groceries. He heard Allison sleeping in the other room and set his groceries down. He stopped, seeing an orange tom cat in the middle of his kitchen. “Hey, buddy. How’d you get up here?”

The cat meowed and he walked up to it.

“You hungry?” He dug through his groceries and pulled out a can of tuna. He pulled out a can opener and started to open it when he heard a noise from his living room.

He quickly stood and walked into the living room, getting punched in the face. He tried to crawl away, but Axel picked him up, holding him by the throat.

Axel held him high, speaking in heavily accented English. “Where is Allison?”

“I...I don’t know. I don’t know!”

He was punched repeatedly in the face and thrown to the floor.

Axel and Otto grabbed both his arms, starting to drag him away.

“Where is Allison!?” Axel repeated.

Allison whistled, getting their attention.

They dropped Elliott and immediately started towards her.

She kicked Otto and punched Axel in the nose, slamming her heel into his foot.

He fell backwards and Otto took a swing at her, hitting her in the jaw. She held her face and roundhouse kicked him. Otto, however, caught her leg and threw her to the ground. He pinned her with his knee and held a knife up high. “Öga för öga.”

He went to slam the knife down, but she held his hand back, grunting. Axel joined in, pulling a knife of his own out. Allison, pinned to the floor by two behemoth men trying to kill her with no way out, did the only thing she knew to do.

She moved to the side, letting Otto stab her in the shoulder as she pulled his ear close to her. “I heard a rumor…” she coughed in a scratchy voice, “I heard a rumor that you jumped out the window.”

Otto’s eyes turned white and he stood, leaving the knife in Allison’s shoulder. Axel watched as Otto ran and jumped through the second-story window. Axel ran to the window, seeing his brother on the ground. Bleeding, but alive. He jumped out the window, landing on the dumpster and climbed down, helping his brother away.

Elliott ran to Allison. “Allison! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…”

“Your voice is back!”

“There’s a knife in my shoulder, Elliott.”

“Oh shit, what do I do?”

“Just...let me handle it, okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. Just a broken nose.”

She winced, holding the knife. “I’ll have to pull it out. Get me a first aid kit, okay?”

Elliott nodded and ran off.

Klaus groaned, walking in. “Elliott? You here?”

“Klaus!” Allison yelled. “Oh thank God. Klaus!”

“Allison?” He ran over to her. “What the hell happened?”

“Big Swedish men tried to kill me.” She pointed to the window. “Rumored him to jump out the window…”

“Your powers! You’re using them!”

“Klaus, now is not the time, I have a _KNIFE_ in my shoulder!”

“Right, right. Should we go to the hospital?”

“I’m a ‘criminally insane’ black person in the 60’s. So no.”

Elliott came back with some alcohol, bandages, and stitching thread. “Will this do?”

“Thanks. Klaus, help me.”

“Got it.”

Elliott stepped back as Klaus tore Allison’s shirt off, starting to bandage her up.

“Are you sure it was you specifically they were trying to kill?”

“They said ‘where’s Allison’ multiple times. So yes.”

“Why would they want to kill you?”

“I don’t know, Klaus.”

Elliott walked over to the middle of the living room, picking up a purple bracelet. “Who’s Claire?”

“What?”

He held the purple bracelet up so she could see. “This bracelet. It says ‘Claire’ on it. I think one of those guys must have dropped it.”

Allison froze, remembering that her bracelet had fallen off at the consulate. She looked at Klaus. “I made it for Claire...it fell off the other day.”

“Why did they have it?”

“I don’t know…One of them said ‘öga för öga.’ That means an eye for an eye.”

“You speak French?”

“...They were trying to kill me to get even. But I didn’t kill anyone...Someone’s framing me.”

\------

“I don’t like how we left things…” Sissy started, sitting on the hood ofthe car with Five. “You were clearly upset.”

Five said nothing.

“Women like me...we don’t get to...some of us don’t get to have the life we want. Sometimes the life we want is too dangerous for ourselves. You’re lucky.”

He jerked his head at that, clenching his jaw.Lucky is not the word he would have used.

“You ain’t got to marry anyone or have kids. You can live your life just fine like that. But I can’t. Women are supposed to have a husband and kids. I can’t be who I want to be. Because it’s dangerous for me.”

“What if it wasn’t? What if you could go somewhere away from here? Away from Carl? Somewhere you could be safe?”

“Where?”

“...I don’t know yet. But it’s probably better there than here.” His voice started cracking. “But I won’t let anything happen to you or Harlan. Just trust me…”

Sissy smiled, nodding. “Yeah, okay.”

He smiled back as she started laughing with joy.

“We can head up north.” He suggested.

“I got family in Oklahoma...we gotta be careful. Carl can’t catch a scent...his brother Jerry is a state trooper. If he thinks...if he thinks I’m gonna run-”

“Hey, he won’t. I promise...if he does, I’ll take care of him.”

Sissy laughed again. She wasn’t aware of the latent power Five had boiling inside him.

“It’ll be business as usual until we’re ready.” Sissy continued. “I just need a little time…”

She laughed more happy tears and hugged him tightly, unaware of how far their conversation had carried. Just far enough for Carl, who had been listening behind some bushes, to hear the whole thing. He lit a cigarette, scowling at the betrayal he’d just heard.

\------

The Handler opened the hotel door, greeting Luther with a smile.

“Ah. Jut in time for a nightcap.”

She walked over to a nightstand, letting him in.

He walked in, shutting the doors behind him. The Handler held a glass out to him. He didn’t take it.

“To be clear. I kill these people, you get me and my family home.”

She grinned, lighting a cigarette and laid across the bed.

“No more doomsday? And you can get me back to how I was before?”

“That’s the deal.”

“…”

“Oh, don’t be so hesitant. It’s not like they’re innocent people. They’re the ones who decided that the apocalypse had to happen. It wouldn’t just be saving your family, it’d be saving the _world_ , Luther.”

He sighed. “I’m in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am gonna go back and do Five going back to the farm in case you thought I forgot about it. I've been planning on Harlan being saved for a while, but I haven't thought of how Five's powers would transfer over to him.


End file.
